UBRARYOFPRINCSPN 


fi!  iq  I  8  2003 


THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


Hoto  Can  ^tita  9lnstoer 
draper? 


How  Can  God  Answer  /^;;0>^^     .     'Q 
Prayer?  \3!-''-^'^^  >-?a 


Being  an  exhaustive  treatise  on   the  Naturey 

Conditions  and  Difficulties 

of  Prayer 


BY        -IX 

WILLIAM    EDWARD    BIEDERWOLF 

Author  of  "A  Help  to  the  Study  of  The  Holy  Spirit,"  "The  Growing 
Christian,"  "The  White  Life,"  etc. 


PUBLISHED    BY 

THE  WINONA  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


COPYRIGHTED    I906, 
THS   WINONA    rVBUSHIMQ   GOMTANV 


TO   MY   WIFE 

THROUGH    WHOSE    CHEERFUL    SACRIHCE  AND    HELPFUL  COM* 

PANIONSHIP    THE     HOURS    OF   STUDY    DEVOTED 

TO    THIS     VOLUME     WERE     MADE 

POSSIBLE   AND  JOYOUS 


FOREWORD 

There  has  always  been  a  tendency  on 
the  part  of  some  to  look  upon  prayer  as  a 
sort  of  spiritual  gymnastic,  its  sole  pur- 
pose being  idealistic.  To  pray,  they  tell 
us,  is  to  become  like  the  One  whom  we 
contemplate  in  the  exercise.  This  idea  of 
prayer  is  not  without  its  sanction.  Even 
noted  physicians  like  Dr.  Hyslop  tell  us 
that  the  effect  of  prayer  on  the  mind  is 
more  beneficial  than  any  other  therapeutic 
agent  known.  But  these  pages  are  writ- 
ten to  show  that  the  whole  truth  is  far 
from  being  found  in  any  such  theory  of 
prayer,  and  to  put  the  emphasis  where 
it  rightly  belongs. 

Another  purpose  of  this  book  has  been 
to  answer  such  questions  as  may  arise  in 
the  mind  of  every  thoughtful  Christian  as 
he  contemplates  this  mighty  privilege  of 
making  known  his  requests  unto  God,  and 
to  make  clear  so  far  as  possible  the  per- 


8  Foreword 

plexities  which  for  him  may  have  gathered 
about  this  sacred  duty.  The  author  has 
been  permitted  to  write  some  things  for 
which  he  has  looked  in  vain  elsewhere  and 
which  he  sincerely  believes  will  be  a  real 
help  to  many  inquiring  souls. 

Grateful  to  God  for  the  long  hours  of 
study  he  has  been  permitted  to  enjoy  upon 
this  subject,  and  for  the  help  that  has 
come  into  his  own  life  from  it,  he  sends 
out  these  printed  pages  with  a  prayer  that 
the  subject  of  which  they  treat  may  have 
a  richer  and  fuller  meaning  and  its  privi- 
lege become  immeasurably  sweeter  for 
every  one  who  may  read  them. 

William  Edward  Biederwolf. 


WHAT  THE  VOLUME   CONTAINS 
BOOK  ONE 

INTRODUCTORY 

I.  The  Privilege  of  Praying 13 

II.  Prayer  Universal 16 

III.  The  Neglect  of  Prayer 20 

IV.  Why  We  Pray  so  Little 24 

BOOK  TWO 

THE  NATURE  AND  VALUE  OF  PRATER 

I.  The  Scripture  Idea  of  Prayer     ....     37 

II.  The  Influence  of  Prayer  on  Man  ...     49 

III.  The  Influence  of  Prayer  on  God   ...     65 

BOOK  THREE 

HOW  CAN  GOD  ANSWER  PRATER? 

I.  Is   It   Consistent  with    God's   Exalted 

Dignity  and  Man's  Insignificance?   .      81 
II.  Why    Pray     if    the   Benevolent    God 

Knows  What  We  Need? 89 

III.  Can   God  in  Order  to  Answer  Prayer 

Interfere    with  Natural    Law?    .    .       91 
IV.  Why  Pray  if  Everything  Is  Predeter- 
mined by  God? 104 

9 


10         What  the  Volume  Contains 
BOOK  FOUR 

TOW  TO  PRAY 

I.  The  Holy  Spirit  Helping  Our  Infirmity  125 

11.  If  Ye  Abide  In  Me,  Ask  What  Ye  Will  152 

III.  Whatsoever  Ye  Ask  In  My  Name   .    .  164 

IV.  If  Ye  Ask  Anything  According  to  His 

Will 178 

V.  When  Ye  Pray  BeUeve 197 

VI.  Importmiity  in  Prayer 215 

BOOK  FIVE 
I.  Why  Our  Prayers  Are  Not  Answered  .  229 

BOOK  SIX 
I.  A  Study  in  Words 257 


floto  Can  i^oti  anstoer  ^rajer? 


THE   PRIVILEGE    OF   PRAYING 

"  Wherefore  let  us  come  boldly  to  the  throne  of  grace, 
that  we  may  obtain  mercy  and  find  grace  to  help  in 
time  of  need." — Heb.  4: 16. 

What  an  unspeakable  privilege !  the  ap- 
proach of  you  or  me,  weak,  insignificant 
children  of  a  day,  into  the  presence  of  the 
everlasting  God.     "Men  ought  always  to 
pray."     The  Word  of  God  speaks  plainly 
about  the  matter.     It   is   an   imperative 
duty.    And  yet  it  is  the  duty  of  prayer  a 
living  up  to  our  privilege  rather  ^^^^ ^^s^" 
than  the  perfunctory  fulfillment  ^uty. 
of  an  obligation  to  which  expression  is 
given;  hence  we  find  our  Lord  not  so  much 
enjoining  the  duty  as  teaching  how  to  best 
realize  the  privilege  in  our  own  experience. 

And  what  a  privilege  it  is !    Is  there  not 
some  mistake  about  it?     Is  it  possible  that 
God  from  His  throne  in  the  heavens  can 
13 


14     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

find  any  delight  in  my  worship,  or  any 
inclination  to  commune  with  me,  or  any 
time  to  bow  down  his  ear  to  the  voice  of 
my  supplication!  Is  it  possible  that  this 
little  creature  to  whom  has  been  given  the 
brief  existence  of  a  day  can  have  free  ac- 
cess to  the  audience  room  of  the  eternal 
God  and  there  urge  upon  Him  the  infini- 
tesimal interests  of  my  vanishing  life?  Is 
it  not  presumption  to  think  that  the  im- 
portunate pleadings  of  so  insignificant  a 
being  can  have  any  influence  with  Him 
upon  whom  are  the  concerns  of  this  vast 
unmeasured  universe?  No,  there  is  no 
mistake  about  it.  Other  thrones 

God's  ear 

always  ready  may  be  guarded ;  approach  may 
be  difficult,  may  be  fatal,  but 
from  the  throne  of  God  the  golden  scepter 
of  His  grace  is  ever  held  out,  and  for  every 
true  supplicant  the  Eternal  King  has  a 
patient,  listening  ear,  and  into  His  pres- 
ence we  are  not  only  invited  but  urged  to 
come  boldly  that  we  may  obtain  mercy 
and  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need. 

Precious  privilege!    to  have  my  praise 


The  Privilege  of  Praying  15 

accepted,  my  petition  heard,  yea,  to  abide 
in  His  presence  and  there  to  commune  as 
with  a  friend.  How  ought  the  heart  to 
swell  with  gratitude,  how  ought  the  soul 
rejoice,  and  how  zealous  ought  we  all  to 
be  in  unceasingly  claiming  this  unspeak- 
able privilege  for  ourselves. 

*'  My  God !  is  any  hour  so  sweet, 

From  blush  of  mom  to  evening  star. 
As  that  which  calls  me  to  Thy  feet — 
The  hour  of  Prayer? 

**  Lord !  till  I  reach  that  bhssful  shore. 
No  privilege  so  dear  shall  be. 
As  thus  my  inmost  soul  to  pour 
In  prayer  to  Thee!" 


n 

PRAYER   UNIVERSAL 

"0  thou  that  hearest  'prayer,  unto  thee  shall  all 
flesh  come." — Ps.  65:  2, 

If  reaching  out  after  a  Supreme  Being 
is  prayer  and  bowing  down  to  idols  is  re- 
ligion, then  prayer  has  ever  been  coex- 
tensive with  the  idea  of  religion ;  then  men 
have  always  prayed.  Prayer^  is  an  in- 
stinct. Wherever  men  have  believed  in  a 
Hifi-her  Power — and  such   be- 

Pr2iy6r  21 

universal  Hcf  has  always  been  universal — 
there  they  have  not  waited  for 
an  argument  to  prove  the  possibility  of 
entering  into  converse  with  such  a  Being, 
but  have  taken  for  granted  and  acted  upon 
the  privilege  of  so  doing. 

Rather  than  a  command  from  the  Deity, 
prayer  has  been  a  specific  demand  of 
man's  own  nature.  Prayer  is  the  heart 
of  religion.  Prayer  is  religion.  It  is  the 
connecting  link  between  God  and  man. 

16 


Prayer  Universal  17 

If  you  could  lift  yourself  far  above  the 
earth  and  look  down  upon  its  people,  you 
would  see  them  everywhere  bowing  down 
to  the  Being  whom  they  conceive  to  be 
their  God.  The  Mohammedan  in  his 
Mosque,  the  Jew  in  his  Synagogue,  the 
heathen  in  his  Temple,  everywhere,  upon 
lonely  deserts  and  wild  promontories,  in 
crowded  cities  and  costly  cathedrals,  you 
would  see  them  praying.  An  ancient  his- 
torian has  said  that  you  could  travel  the 
world  over  and  find  cities  without  walls, 
[^without  letters,  without  kings,  without 
P^  wealth,  without  schools  or  theaters,  but  a 
city  without  ajemple  or  where  people  did 
not  pray  you  would  never  see. 

What  is  true  of  other  religions  is  true  of 
our  own.  The  Christian  is  preeminently 
a  person  of  prayer;  not  that  he  did  not 
pray  before,  but  that  what  was  then  a 
blind  instinct  becomes  now  an  intelligent 
principle.  What  then  was  a  dictate  of  his 
own  nature  gives  place  now  to  the  prompt- 
ings of  God's  Spirit  within  him.  What 
then  he  was  led  to  do  out  of  sheer  necessity. 


18     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

he  now  esteems  the  sweetest  of  all  his  priv- 
ileges. What  then  he  sought  by  sacrifice 
The  and  penance  he  now  obtains  as 

diflerence  •  t_       .  i  •  i. 

between  ^  gracious  Dcstowal  m  answer  to 
cSStan  "'^  his  petition.  What  then  he  un- 
prayer.  dcrtook  with  fainting  heart  he 

now  pursues  with  boldness  by  the  "new 
and  living  way."  What  then  he  sought  to 
use  as  a  means  toward  temporal  blessing 
becomes  now  the  channel  of  spiritual  grace 
as  well.  What  then  was  a  mere  pleading 
in  his  own  behalf  becomes  now  a  gracious 
intercession  for  others  as  well.  What  then 
was  mere  asking  of  an  infinitely  removed 
Divinity  is  now  the  most  intimate  com- 
munion with  the  God  and  Father  of  us  all. 
This  is  the  difference  between  heathen 
prayer  and  Christian  prayer. 

Deprive  the  unregenerate  man  of  prayer, 

and  though  his  prayers  avail  not  you  make 

him  miserable  and  forlorn;  de- 

Prayer  Is  _  ' 

the  nerve       privc  the  Christian  of  prayer 

of  the  ^      -  11-         1   • 

reugious        and  you  not  only  deprive  nim 

of   his    sweetest    privilege    and 

dearest  solace,  but  you  take  from  him  the 


Prayer  Universal  19 

key  that  open  sets  the  storehouse  of  his 
God;  you  not  only  take  away  his  chief 
support,  but  you  cut  the  nerve  of  his  reli- 
gious life;  you  rob  him  of  his  "vital  breath." 

"  For  what  are  men  better  than  sheep  or  goats 
That  nourish  a  bUnd  life  within  the  brain, 
If,  knowing  God,  they  lift  not  hands  of  prayer 
Both  for  themselves  and   those  who  call  them 

friend  ? 
For  so  the  whole  round  world  is  every  way 
Bound  by  gold  chains  about  the  feet  of  God." 


m 

THE  NEGLECT  OF  PRAYER 

"  Ye  have  not,  because  ye  ask  not." — J  as.  4:  2. 

If  prayer  be  so  great  a  privilege  and  one 
so  universally  recognized,  what  more  rea- 
sonable expectation  than  to  find  people 
everywhere  and  always  praying?  More 
especially  would  we  expect  to  find  this  true 
of  the  Christian.  With  his  more  intelli- 
gent understanding  of  what  prayer  is 
and  what  it  means  for  the  soul,  it  ought 
not  be  surprising  if  he  be  found  always 
at  it. 

And  yet,  alas !  for  the  number  of  God's 
people  for  whom  prayer  is  but  the  cry  of  a 

child  in  distress.     Possibly  the 
that  despoils  Hfc  is  uot  without  the  form  of 

prayer  —  a  sentence  of  thanks 
for  general  mercies  on  retiring  and  a  brief 
petition  for  protection  through  night's  de- 
fenceless hours  —  but  let  the  storm  come 
and  like  the  heathen  and  the  atheist  it 
20 


The  Neglect  of  Prayer  21 

drives  us  to  our  knees  in  earnest  appeal  to 
God. 

But  even  then  we  ofttimes  do  not  pray. 
The  form  is  there,  a  certain  earnestness 
and  agony  of  sou]  are  there,  but  the  ele- 
ments that  make  prayer  real  are  wanting. 
He  who  does  not  pray  when  the  sun  shines 
knows  not  how  to  pray  when  the  clouds 
arise.  But  how  many  of  us  do  pray  in 
sunshine  as  well  as  shadow?  How  many 
of  us  are  not  only  stirring  ourselves  up  to 
take  hold  on  God  in  crisnl  times,  but  are 
giving  heed  to  God's  injunction  to  "pray 
without  ceasing ".'^  With  how  many  of  us 
is  prayer  a  habit  of  the  soul? 

Is   it-  not   the   deplorable   lack   of   the 
church  to-day  that  we  pray  so  little?     On 
every  hand  comes  the  sad  confession.   Let 
that  one  to  whom  these  pages  come  an- 
swer  for   himself   or   herself — 
What  place  has  prayer  in  your  ^^^^j**"®°* 
life?     Is  the  secret  of  His  pres- 
ence the  place  where  your  soul  delights 
to  hide,  or  is  it  the  thought  that  you  ought 
to   pray   out    of    respect    to    the    divine 


22     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

command  that  takes  you  betimes  to  your 
knees  ? 

God  says,  "Ask  and  ye  shall  receive." 
Prayer  is  the  appointed  means  for  bring- 
ing the  blessing  of  heaven  down  to  earth. 
God  is  just  standing  in  heaven's  portal, 
more  ready  than  an  earthly  parent  to  give 
good  gifts  to  His  children,  and  with  His 
hands  full  of  choicest  favor  is  saying, 
*' Ask  what  I  shall  give  thee."  What  more 
grateful  to  His  heart  than  the  confidence 
which  leads  His  children  to  ask  these 
favors  at  His  hand?  What  more  unfilial 
than  to  ignore  the  yearning  of  His  great 
heart  to  give? 

If  God's  Word  is  true  as  to  what 
prayer  has  done  and  will  do;  if  what  we 

The  need  of  ^^^^^  ^^^*  prayer  has  wrought 
the  church     as    it    "movcd    the    arm   that 

and  the  .  i  i »»  •     .  i 

source  of  movcs  the  world  is  true,  where 
supply.  further  need  we  look  for  what 

the  church  needs  to-day  to  make  His  will 
prevail  throughout  the  earth? 

If  history  be  true,  God's  great  men  were 
all  men  of  prayer.     Prayer  is  the  channel 


The  Neglect  of  Prayer  23 

of  power.  It  is  true  what  Macgregor 
once  said,  that,  "So  important  a  factor  is 
prayer  in  Christian  experience,  that  the 
history  of  a  man's  progress  in  the  Divine 
life  is  just  the  history  of  his  progress  in  the 
knowledge  and  in  the  use  of  prayer." 
And  yet  we  pray  so  little.     Why  is  it.^ 

"Why,   therefore,   should   we   do   ourselves   tliis 

wrong, 
Or  others — that  we  are  not  always  strong; 

That  we  are  ever  overborne  with  care; 
That  we  should  ever  weak  or  heartless  be. 

Anxious  or  troubled,  while  with  us  is  prayer, — 
And  joy,  and  strength,  and  courage  are  with 
Thee?" 


rv 

WHY  WE  PRAY  SO  LITTLE 

"Could  ye  not  watch  loith  me  one  hour?"—' 
Matt.  26:  40. 

Why  do  we  pray  so  little.^  Why  is 
prayer  so  much  neglected.'^  More  an- 
swers than  one  have  been  given  to  the 
question,  though  each  needs  all  the  rest 
to  make  the  answer  all-complete.  Three 
reasons,  among  them  all  most  prominent, 
suggest  themselves  to  me: 

1.  The  first,  which  is  after  all  the  great- 
est and  most  inclusive,  is  our  natural  dis- 
like for  prayer.  Who  can  doubt  it  was 
the  first  man's  chief  est  joy  to  hold  con- 
Man's  verse  with  his  God.  What  de- 
ntti^e  leads  lightful  hours  thosc  must  have 
forge«uiness  ^^^n,  thosc  first  swcct  days, 
oi  God.  when  Adam,  with  soul  all  pure 
and  clean,  could  meet  his  Maker  in  com- 
munion face  to  face.  But  Adam  sinned, 
and  straightway  something  took  hold  of 

24 


Why  We  Pray  so  Little  25 

Adam's  God-like  nature  and  twisted  it 
and  left  it  ever  after  predisposed  to  that 
which  was  crooked  and  distorted.  It  left 
him  unable  to  please  God  (Rom.  8:8), 
unable  to  love  God  (Rom.  8:7),  or  to 
know  the  things  of  God  (1  Cor.  2: 14).  It 
was  the  same  thing  Paul  had  when  he  said, 
*'  When  I  would  do  good,  evil  is  ever  pres- 
ent with  me";  the  same  thing  that  has 
been  with  us  all  through  all  the  years  since 
the  first  man's  sin.  It  is  our  iwrverted 
human  nature, — the  carnal  life, — the  self- 
life,  and  although  there  is  freedom  from 
it  (Rom.  8:2),  it  is,  alas!  ever  ready  to 
assert  itself  and  carry  the  mind  in  the  very 
moment  of  communion  away  to  the  vain 
pleasures  and  perplexing  business  of  the 
world. 

The  holiest  souls   of  earth  have  con- 
fessed that  such  disturbance  is  not  unfre- 
quent   in  their  devotions,   and  ^^^  houest 
unless  the  tendency  of  the  self-  samts 

•^-  disturbed 

life  be  checked  by  the  overmas-  m  their 

,       .  e    ii         /^i      ■   j_      devotions. 

termg  presence  or  the  Christ- 
life,  we  are  going  to  find  our  whole  lives 


26     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

given  to  such  things  as  tend  not  only  to 
make  prayer  an  uninviting  duty  instead 
of  a  joyful  soul-absorbing  privilege,  but  to 
make  any  prolonged  communion  a  series 
of  earthly  interruptions. 

"Never  any  more  wonder,"  says  an  old 
writer,  *'that  men  so  seldom  pray,  for 
there  are  very  few  that  feel  the  relish,  and 
are  enticed  with  the  deliciousness,  and  re- 
freshed with  the  comforts,  and  acquainted 
with  the  secrets  of  a  holy  prayer,"  And 
why?  Simply  because  the  self-life,  which 
has  created  the  natural  dislike  for  prayer, 
has  put  a  rake  in  the  hands  of  so  many  of 
God's  children  to-day  and  set  them 
scratching  in  the  muck  of  the  earth.  Well 
has  Austin  Phelps  asked,  "Who  is  it  that 
has  said,  'I  will  make  them  joyful  in  my 
house  of  prayer.^'  " 

2.  The  second  reason  for  the  present- 
day  lack  of  prayer  is  fJie  awful  rush  of 
modern  life.  "Evening,  morning  and 
No  time         noon  will  I  pray,"  said  David, 

lor  prayer.        |^^|.    jjlOSt    pCOplc    are    tOO    busy 

for  that  in  these  strenuous  times.    A  man 


Whij  We  Pray  so  Little  27 

hardly  has  time  to  stop  and  tie  his  shoe- 
string, and  we  are  allowing  the  rush  of 
things  to  steal  our  minds  away  from 
God. 

One  does  not  need  a  cloister  to  com- 
mune with  God.     He  can  make,  he  ought 
to  make,  "the  common  round,  the  trivial 
task,"  the  tiresome  toil  of  business  life, 
the  joyful  sport  of  field  or  home  a  ministry 
for  Christ  even  as  the  service  in 
the  sanctuary,  and  m  them  ail  pray 
find  fellowship  with  God.    Yea,  ^^^^ 
^ore,  behind  desk  or  counter  or  on  the 
3usy^reet  brushing  sleeves^with  our  hur- 
rying fellowsTyou  ^n  foFa  moment^ Jrom 
time  to  time,  build  an  altar  and  be  alone 
with  God. 

But  all  this  we  are  sure  will  not  be 
enough  for  the  one  who  would  know  God 
intimately  and  who  would  experience  the 
fulness  of  His  strength  for  the  toil,  the 
trial  and  the  temptation  of  life's  every  day. 
Such  a  one  needs  more  time  where  with 
life's  busy  cares  and  fretting  noise  shut 
out  he  can  be  quiet  before  his  God. 


28     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

But,  you  say,  "How  can  I  spare  the 
time?"  How  can  you  afford  7iot  to  spare 
it?  You,  a  professing  Christian,  and  not 
find  time  to  pray !  Wherefore  hath  God 
given  you  all  the  time  there  is  save  to  im- 
plore His  mercy  and  do  His  will?  Take 
time ! !  You  never  lack  for  time  to  implore 
Seeing  ^^^  importuuc  tliosc  wlio  hold 

things  from    earth's  favors   in  their  hands, 

tlie  right  _  ' 

perspective,  and  yet,  O  God!  no  time  to  re- 
ceive the  eternal  mercies  from  heaven's 
gracious  King.  Do  the  concerns  of  this 
world  outw^eigh  those  of  the  next?  If  God 
ministers  to  the  fowls  of  the  air,  that 
neither  sow  nor  reap  nor  gather  into  barns, 
must  you  neglect  your  soul  that  your  body 
may  not  starve?  Time  was  never  given 
us  to  waste,  but  its  rigid  monopoly  to  ma- 
terial interests  is  cheating  the  heart  out  of 
its  chief  est  joys  and  robbing  life  of  all  its 
beauty  and  its  sweetness. 

Take  time  for  other  things !  Take  time 
for  the  good-bye  kiss !  It  will  leave  a 
lighter  heart  behind  and  send  a  braver 
one  forth  to  the  struggles  of  the  day.  Take 


Why  We  Prmj  so  Little  29 

time  to  be  agreeable.  The  interest  it  will 
bear  as  the  years  go  by  you  will  some  day 
find  to  be  larger  than  all  the  worldly  emol- 
uments you  have  sought  so  hard  to  gain. 
Take  time  to  show  a  little  appreciation. 
It  was  only  a  bunch  of  dandelions,  but  the 
little  one  thought  they  were  the  sweetest 
of  the  flowers,  and  she  meant  them  all  for 
you.  To  have  kissed  her  for  them,  much- 
occupied  mother,  would  have  been  quite 
as  easy  as  to  have  said,  "Too  busy  to  be 
bothered."  It  would  have  paid  a  thou- 
sand times  more  than  any  tidy  home  with- 
out a  mother's  caress.      Take 

Taking  time 

time  to  get  acquainted  with  the  for  things 

p         •^  ■\-  '         ^  '         that  pay. 

lamily.  lour  companionship, 
busy  father,  may  be  worth  a  good  deal 
more  to  your  boy,  who  is  now  almost  a 
stranger  to  you,  than  your  fortune;  the 
latter  is  a  doubtful  blessing.  Take  time 
to  encourage  the  down-hearted  brother. 
Its  income  will  be  better  than  gold  in  the 
day  when  the  angels  of  God  stoop  down 
to  bind  up  your  own  broken  heart. 

Take  time  to  pray.     Even  so  the  Mas- 


30     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

ter  did.     It  will  make  you  a  braver  and  a 
better  man. 

"  No  time  to  pray ! 
Oh,  who  so  fraught  with  earthly  care 
As  not  to  give  to  humble  prayer 
Some  part  of  day? 

"No  time  to  pray! 
What  heart  so  clean,  so  pure  within, 
That  needeth  not  some  check  from  sin. 
Needs  not  to  pray ! 

"  No  time  to  pray  ! 
'Mid  each  day's  dangers,  what  retreat 
More  needful  than  the  mercy-seat? 
Who  need  not  pray? 

*'  No  time  to  pray ! 
Must  care  or  business'  urgent  call 
So  press  us  as  to  take  it  all, 
Each  passing  day? 

"What  thought  more  drear 
Than  that  our  God  His  face  should  hide. 
And  say,  through  all  life's  swelling  tide. 
No  time  to  hear!" 

A  note  of  warning  may  well  be  sounded 
here  to  the  busy  minister  and  those  given 


Whij  We  Prmj  so  Little  31 

to  special  forms  of  religious  work.  With 
all  these  demands  upon  us,  the  sermon 
that  must  be  written,  the  letters  that  must 
be  answered,  the  calls  that  must  be  made, 
the  unexpected  that  must  be  attended 
to,  how  little  time  we  have  for  prayer. 
In  Andrew  Murray's  first  chap- 
ter on  the  "Ministry  of  Inter-  Jon^felsfon 
cession"    he  has   called    atten-  °' *^t 

ministry. 

tion  to  the  confession  that  came 
up  on  every  side  from  the  ministers  and 
workers  in  convention  as  to  the  little  place 
that  closet  prayer  had  occupied  in  their 
busy  lives,  and  they  were  wondering  how, 
with  all  the  pressure  of  duty,  they  could 
ever  hope  for  much  change.  But,  Be- 
loved, if  it  is  God's  work  we  are  doing  and 
He  has  told  us  to  give  ourselves  somewhat 
to  prayer,  will  He  not  take  care  of  that 
work  while  we  are  doing  it.'^ 

If  we  are  to  believe  the  records  that 
have  come  down  to  us,  then  God's  most 
useful  men  have  mostly  been  those  who, 
according  to  their  own  testimony,  had  so 
much  to  do  they  could  not  get  along  with- 


32     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

out  several  hours  of  prayer  each  day;  if 
they  could  not  be  found  at  one  time,  they 
were  found  at  another.  It  is  said  of  J. 
Alone  with  Hudson  Taylor  that  he  rose  at 
9°'^  ^°- ,         three  o'clock  in  the  mornino:  that 

tne  early  o 

hours.  he  might  spend  two  hours  alone 

with  God  before  the  other  business  of  the 
day  broke  in  upon  him.  Note  you,  that 
of  praying  he  made  a  business,  too. 

If  God  calls  to  prayer,  all  other  calls  for 
the  time  being  are  calls  of  men,  and  if  God 
is  waiting  to  meet  us  and  to  better  prepare 
us  for  the  work  that  lies  before  us,  it  would 
certainly  seem  the  part  of  wisdom  as  well 
as  duty  to  wait  on  God  before  we  go. 

Oh,  how  few  the  hours  before  the  day  is 
done,  and  when  perchance  there  comes  an 
hour  on  which  some  duty  does  not  lay  im- 
mediate demand,  what  books  we  fain 
would  read  and  feel  we  ought  to,  what 
lines  of  study  follow  out.  But  after  all,  I 
wonder  if  a  little  less  study  and  a  little 
more  prayer  wouldn't  make  better  preach- 
ers out  of  us  anyhow.  I  wonder  if,  after 
all,  the  amount  of  real  success  may  not  be 


Why  We  Pray  so  Little  33 

measured  somewhat  by  the  amount  of  real 
prayer  in  our  lives.  And  when  we  think 
of  the  solemn  service  to  which  we  have 
been  dedicated,  with  its  holy  functions,  its 
vast  responsibilities,  its  issues  The  strength 
of  life  and  death,  with  its  per-  °*  ^°^ 

_  _  A  made  over 

plexities    and    its    trials,    how  to  man. 
much  we  need  the  nearest  presence  and 
the    fullest    strength  of    our   God   which 
comes  to  us  and  which  we  take  with  us 
from  the  place  of  prayer. 

"  I  pray  for  strength,  O  God ! 
To  bear  all  loads  that  on  my  shoulders  press 
Of  thy  directing  or  Thy  chastening  rod. 

Lest  from  their  growing  stress 
My  spirit  sink  in  utter  helplessness. 

"  I  pray  for  strength  to  run 
In  duty's  narrowest  paths,  nor  turn  aside 
In  broader  ways  that  glow  in  pleasure's  sun. 

Lest  I  grow  satisfied, 
Where  Thou  from  me  Thy  smiling  face  must  hide. 

"  I  pray  for  strength  to  wait 
Submissively  when  I  can  not  see  my  way, 
Or  if  my  feet  would  haste,  some  close-barred  gate 


34     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

Bids  my  hot  zeal  delay, 
Or  to  some  by-path  turns  their  steps  astray. 

"  I  pray  for  strength  to  live 
To  all  life's  noble  ends,  prompt,  just  and  true; 
Myself,  my  service,  unto  all  to  give, 

And,  giving,  yet  renew 
My  store  for  bounty  of  life's  journey  through. 

**  1  pray,  O  God,  for  strength. 
When,  as  life's  love  and  labors  find  surcease. 
Cares,  crosses,  burdens  to  lay  down  at  length, 

And  so,  with  joy's  increase. 
To  die,  if  not  in  triumph — in  Thy  peace." 

3.  The  third  reason  for  our  lack  of 
prayer  is  that  we  realize  so  little  the  value 
of  prayer.  Doubtless  no  Christian  would 
excuse  himself  by  saying,  What  good  will 
it  do?  But  he  is  all  the  while  impoverish- 
ing himself  by  failing  to  realize  how  much 
good  it  really  will  do.  This  brings  up  the 
whole  question  as  to  what  prayer  is  and 
God's  Idea  what  God  meant  it  should  be 
of  prayer.  |.q  ^-j^^  Christian.  This  opens 
a  most  interestino^  field  of  investig-ation 
to  which  we  urge  your  attention  in  the 
immediately  following  pages. 


TOje  Jgature  anb  "Falue  of  draper 


THE  SCRIPTURE  IDEA  OF  PRAYER 

"What  profit  shall  we  have,  if  we  pray  to  Him?'* 
—Job.  21:15. 

Frederick  W.  Robertson,  in  his  sermon 
on  Prayer,  says:  "Prayer  is  one  thing  and 
petition  is  quite  another,"  but  in  reality 
prayer  and  petition  are  quite  one  and  the 
same  thing. 

The  first  essential  to  intelligent  argu- 
ment is  clear  definition,  and  before  either 
of  the  above  statements  which  ciear 
are  so  plainly  contradictory  can  ?he^st° 
be   rightly    appreciated    it   be-  f^tgjjf *gn° 
comes  necessary  to  know  just  argument, 
what  idea  of  prayer  is  entertained  by  those 
making  them.     What  is  prayer?     Evi- 
dently Mr.  Robertson's  idea  of  prayer  is 
something  quite  removed  from  petition  or 
supplication.     Prayer  is  commonly  con- 
ceived to  be  communion  with  God.     But 
what  does  the  word  itself  mean  and  what 

37 


88     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

is  the  first  and  root  meaning  of  its  equiva- 
lents as  used  in  the  Word  of  God?  This 
is  without  doubt  the  surest  way  and  the 
safest  to  discover  the  essential  nature  of 
this  exercise  we  commonly  call  prayer. 

That  prayer  primarily  means  petition, 
supplication  or  entreaty,  the  etymology  of 
the  word  makes  certain;  it  means  neither 
to  meditate  nor  to  commune 
ogy  TSt'  nor  even  to  talk  with  another 
word.  person,  but  it  does  mean  to  pe- 

tition something  at  his  hand.  This  is  not 
only  true  of  the  word  in  English,  but  of  its 
equivalent  in  all  other  languages,  and  if 
you  will  trace  its  origin  you  will  find  it 
comes  from  the  same  root  as  the  Sanscrit 
word  praach,  which  means  to  ask.  Usage, 
however,  has  given  to  the  word  a  much 
wider  meaning,  no  less  than  five  Greek 
words  in  the  New  Testament  and  twelve 
Hebrew  words  in  the  Old  Testament  be- 
ing translated  prayer. 

This  is,  however,  natural  when  we  think 
for  a  moment  of  what  is  involved  in  asking 
anything  at  the  hand  of  God.     When  ap- 


The  Scripture  Idea  of  Prayer       39 

proach  to  God  is  made  various  thoughts 
and  emotions  stir  the  soul  to  which  ex- 
pression are  most  naturally  given.  One 
cannot  contemplate  God  without  being 
overwhelmed  at  His  infinite  and  awe  in- 
spiring greatness,  without  be-  ^^^  ^^^ 
coming  deeply  sensible  to  His  i^^a  oi 

n  1.    ^       ^  prayer  is 

boundless     graciousness      and  made  so 
humbly  repentant  of  the  wrong 
done  to  Him.     How  especially  is  this  true 
and  how  appropriate  its  expression  when 
we  come  as  a  supplicant  for  His  favor. 

Hence  prayer  is  usually  divided  into  the 
following  component  parts:  Adoration, 
Thanksgiving,  Confession  and  Petition. 
This  suggests  a  splendid  order  for  the  ex- 
pression of  what  is  doubtless  in  the  mind 
of  every  one  as  he  comes  to  God,  though 
there  can  be  nothing  stereotyped  in  so 
vital  a  matter.  Some  of  the  most  effective 
/  prayers  in  the  Bible  are  simple,  earnest 
,  cries  for  mercy;  but  the  Bible  abounds 
with  prayers  in  which  something  of  the 
order  noted  is  observed. 

But  since  it  is  quite  as  proper  for  the 


\ 


40     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

soul  to  approach  God  without  being  urged  I 
into  His  presence  by  some  petition  it 
would  bring,  we  have  even  come  to  define 
prayer  more  broadly  as  ._Qo7rim'union,  by 
which  simple  address  to  or  talking  with 
God  is  understood.  The  first  meaning  of 
communion  is  something  else  (partner- 
ship, sharing),  but  it  is  used  twenty-eight 
times  in  the  English  Version  as  a  transla- 
prayer  as  t^^n  of  Hebrew  and  Greek 
communion,  ^grds  which  mean  to  speak  or 
talk.  In  Exodus  25 :  22,  where  it  is  said, 
*'I  will  commune  with  thee  from  above 
the  mercy  seat,"  the  word  is  dabar,  which 
literally  means  to  speak. 

Some  have  thought  to  still  further 
weaken  the  conception  of  prayer  by  call- 
ing it  religious  meditation,  but  if  by  such 
expression  is  meant  mere  thinking  about 
God,  it  is  not  prayer  in  any  sense  of  the 
word;  it  is  not  even  religious;  but  if  by 
meditation  is  meant  such  exercise  of  mind 
and  soul  as  involve  the  sentiments  and 
disposition  mentioned  a  moment  ago  and 
which  are  sure  to  arise  with  any  one  who 


The  Scripture  Idea  of  Prayer       41 

has  even  a  half-conception  of  the  real 
character  of  God  (and  the  wri-  prayer  as 
ter  knows  of  no  other  kind  of  "leditation. 
religious  meditation),  then,  even  as  com- 
munion, such  exercise  may  be  defined  as 
prayer,  for  whether  such  sentiments  and 
disposition  be  audibly  uttered  or  silently 
felt  it  is,  after  all,  an  approach  to  God  in 
which  the  mind  and  heart  and  soul  com- 
mune with  Him. 

The  trouble  with  such  definitions  of 
prayer  is  that  they  are  partial,  and,  like  all 
other  half-truths,  often  work  serious  in- 
jury to  the  whole  truth. 

Granting  now  for  the  moment  that  the 
element  of  petition  may  be  legitimately 
eliminated  from  prayer,  *'What  profit 
shall  we  have  if  we  pray  to  Him.?"  What 
benefit  is  there  in  thus  communing  with 
God? 

Now,  we  would  not  for  one  moment  in- 
sinuate that  no  practical  results  come  from 
such  praying,  but  we  do  mean  to  say  that 
they  are  hardly  to  be  compared  with  those 
that  follow  when  petition,  which  is  the 


42     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

very  heart  of  prayer,  is  allowed  its  true 
The  reflex  P^^^e  in  the  communion  we 
influence  have  with  God.  Without  peti- 
greater  with  tiou  the  benefit  is  plainly  limit- 
of^pemion  cd  to  the  effect  upon  the  mind 
involved.  ^^^^  character  of  the  one  who 
prays;  but  even  this  is  limited  in  compar- 
ison with  the  same  benefit  as  derived  from 
prayer  in  its  truest  and  most  vital  sense. 
Directing  the  mind  and  soul  toward  any 
superhuman  object  or  fixing  them  upon 
any  lofty  ideal  will  naturally  result  in 
healthy  reaction  upon  the  one  so  engaged. 
And  to  contemplate  the  divine  greatness 
of  the  Most  High  God,  to  mention  before 
Him  His  boundless  providence  and  to  ac- 
knowledge His  excellent  wisdom  in  all 
His  rulings  must  of  necessity  leave  with 
the  human  soul  a  greater  sense  of  its  own 
littleness  and  a  correspondingly  greater 
humility  of  mind,  a  deeper  gratitude  of 
heart  and  a  holier  submission  to  Him  who 
worketh  all  things  together  for  good. 

All  this  we  would  not  underestimate; 
much  less  deny.     Indeed,  this  subjective 


The  Scripture  Idea  of  Prayer       43 

effect  of  prayer  might  be  still  further  ana- 
lyzed and  doubtless  many  other  elements 
of  worth  discovered.  We  do  not  say  it 
would  be  improper  to  speak  here  of  a  cer- 
tain calmness  of  temper,  of  certain  free- 
dom from  distraction,  of  sympathies  and 
self-disinterestedness  and  other  traits  of 
moral  excellence,  all  of  which  touch  the 
character  with  a  beauty  that  is  much 
worth  while. 

But  what  we  would  have  the  reader  now 
to  appreciate,  and  what  many  who  have 
thought  more  profoundly  on  petition  a 
this  subject  than  we  presume  to  p^^otg^.  ^j 
have  done  have  failed  to  dis-  communion, 
cover  is  this,  that  not  only  are  such  effects 
themselves  very  much  heightened  when 
due  place  is  given  in  prayer  to  petition,  but 
that  with  petition  eliminated  there  would 
be  but  little  if  any  communion  with  God 
at  all ;  not  that  one  only  goes  to  God  when 
he  has  a  petition  to  offer  (for  there  is  much 
communion  without  petition),  but  that  if 
a  man  had  any  sort  of  assurance  that  such 
approach  of  the  soul  to  God  as  commun- 


44     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

ion  involves  was  being  made  to  a  Supreme 
Being  whose  ear  was  deaf  and  whose  heart 
indifferent  to  our  cries  of  distress  and  our 
petitions  for  help  or  hearing  could  not  help 
us  because  of  the  inevitable  course  of 
things  over  which  He  has  no  control,  the 
probability  is  that  that  man  would  soon 
begin  to  incline  toward  a  state  of  dumb 
resignation  to  the  inevitable,  which  in  turn 
would  rapidly  tend  toward  the  neglect  of 
prayer  altogether.  We  pray  too  little  as 
it  is.  If  with  Frederick  W.  Robertson  we 
Frederick  w.  scc  in  prayer  only  such  contem- 
fd°ea"o?°°''  plation  of  the  character  of  God 
prayer.  as  cnds  with  the  resignation  of 

ourselves  to  His  will,  most  men,  we  fear, 
would  not  put  themselves  even  to  such 
effort  to  obtain  it.  They  would  be  more 
likely  to  accept  the  inevitable  and  devote 
the  time  otherwise  required  for  such  con- 
templation to  making  the  best  out  of  a 
condition  of  affairs  for  which  there  is  no 
help,  at  least  from  above. 

But,  on  the  contrary,  to  know  that  God 
hears  my  cry  for  help  as  well  as  my  voice 


The  Serif  ture  Idea  of  Prayer      45 

in  praise  and  thanksgiving  and  confession, 
and  that  like  as  a  father  He  not  only  piti- 
eth  His  children  but,  having  the  power, 
He  giveth  unto  them  what  would  not  be 
theirs  but  for  the  asking,  then  indeed  are 
we  constrained  to  come  to  Him,  not  alone 
with  our  petitions  but  with  the  expression 
of  grateful  hearts;  then  indeed  are  we 
drawn  into  His  presence  by  that  very  fact, 
not  only  in  the  hour  of  special  need  but 
continually,  even  as  with  the  closest 
friend;  how  much  sweeter  and  more  inti- 
mate fellowship  with  such  a  God  than 
with  the  one  contemplated  a  moment  ago. 
Now  that  true  prayer  not  petition  the 
only  includes  petition,  but  that  sc"*turai 
petition  is  the  very  heart  of  prayer, 
prayer,  even  a  cursory  glance  into  Scrip- 
ture will  show. 

Of  the  five  Greek  words  in  the  New 
Testament  which  the  translators  have 
chosen  to  translate  prayer,  the  primary 
meaning  of  the  three  most  frequently  used 
(deomai,  ten  times;  erotao,  seven  times; 
EUCHOMAi,  eighty-five  times)  is  to  peti- 


46     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

tion,  to  ask,  to  supplicate.  Of  the  other 
Greek  two   words   SO   translated   and 

words  lor  i    i      ■  i  / 

prayer.  used  Dut  once  each,  one  (en- 

TEUXis,  to  hold  converse  with)  is  used  in 
the  sense  of  thanksgiving  (1  Tim.  4:5); 
the  other  (parakaleo,  to  call  along  side 
of)  is  used  in  the  specific  sense  of  a  petition 
for  help  (Matt.. 26:  53). 

But  apart  from  the  fact  that  the  pri- 
mary meaning  of  the  word  prayer  is  pe- 
tition; apart  also  from  the  fact  that  one 
hundred  and  two  times  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament (to  say  nothing  of  the  numerous 
instances  of  the  Old  Testament),  are 
foreign  words  whose  primary  meaning 
is  also  petition  translated  prayer,  thirty- 
three  times  in  the  New  Testament  and 
thirty-nine  in  the  Old  Testament  we 
Biblical  ^^^  ^^^  simple  word  ask  (which 

translations  fs  the  cxact  translation  of  its 
onyms  lor  foreign  equivalents)  used  to  de- 
prayer,  scribe  the  act  of  going  to  God 
in  prayer.  As  we  think  this  over  we  won- 
der if  we  are  not  wasting  words  and  time 
in  proving  that  prayer  means  primarily 


The  Scripture  Idea  oj  Prayer       47 

petition.  Of  course  it  means  petition,  and 
when  the  great  prayer  Teacher  said,  "Ask 
and  ye  shall  receive,"  He  most  assuredly 
meant  that  we  were  to  obtain  something 
through  our  asking. 

How  much  richer  and  fuller,  we  again 
remark,  is  the  meaning  of  prayer  when 
thus  correctly  understood.  The  word  is 
now  big  with  meaning,  and  when  one  thus 
sees  it  to  be  his  privilege  to  make  known 
his  requests  before  a  God  who  will  concern 
Himself  about  their  answer  all  the  other 
inducements  into  His  presence  are  much 
intensified,  it  seems  to  me,  and  not  until 
we  have  thus  fully  realized  all  that 
prayer  involves  are  we  in  a  position  to 
fully  realize  how  valuable  the  exercise  is. 

With  these  thoughts  on  the  nature  of 
prayer  in  our  mind,  let  us  see  what  answer 
can  be  ffiven  to  the  question  The  twofold 

,.  ,         ,         ipi*      value  of 

standing  at  the  head   ot   this  prayer, 
chapter :  *'  What  profit  shall  we  have  if  we 
pray  to  Him.?"    We  are  now  prepared  to 
see  that  the  value  of  prayer  is,  (1)  in  its 
reflexive  or  natural  effect  on  the  soul,  and 


48     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

(2)  in  its  direct  efficacy  in  securing  what  / 
we  ask  of  God.    These  two  phases  of  the 
value  of  prayer  may  properly  form  the 
substance  of  separate  chapters. 


II 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  PRAYER  ON  MAN 

"It  is  good  for  me  to  draw  near  to  God." — Ps.  73 :  28. 

Even  Professor  Tyndall,  with  all  his 
skepticism,  has  said:  "It  is  not  my  habit 
of  mind  to  think  otherwise  than  solemnly 
of  the  feelings  which  prompt  to  prayer. 
Often  unreasonable,  even  con-  „^ 
temptible,  in  its  purer  forms  diaerence 
prayer  hints  at  disciplines  which  a  prayerful 

p  p  I      .         •.•I         .    and  a  non* 

tew    Ot    US    can    neglect   without    prayerful 

moral  loss."  How  true  it  is  "'*• 
that  we  need  but  compare  the  life  and 
bearing  of  the  Christian  much  given  to 
prayer  with  that  of  the  one  who  thus  com- 
munes but  little  with  his  Lord  in  order  to 
see  the  quickening,  purifying  and  elevat- 
ing effects  of  prayer  upon  the  soul. 

When  Mrs.  Browning  asked  Charles 
Kingsley  the  secret  of  his  beautiful  life, 
saying,  *'tell  me  that  I  may  make  mine 
beautiful,   too,"   he   replied,   "I    had    a 

49 


50     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

friend."     God  pity  the  man  who  even  in 
earthly  associations  has  not  had  the  com- 
panionship of  some  pure  andgen- 

Cbarles  j.  x  i  o 

Kingsiey's    uincsoul;  for  there  are  naturcs 

friend.  •         i  •  'j.!,        i, 

m  close  communion  with  whom 
we  are  conscious  of  a  sort  of  baptism  and 
consecration  binding  us  over  to  a  life  pure 
and  genuine  like  their  own.  Think,  then, 
what  unceasing  communion  with  God 
must  mean  —  how  the  soul  is  fixed  in 
steadfast  gaze  upon  His  image  and  glory, 
*' until,"  as  another  has  said,  "that  image 
is  daguerreotyped,  as  it  were,  on  the  soul ; 
nay,  till  the  soul  itself  is  "changed  into  the 
same  image,  from  glory  unto  glory,  as  by 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord." 

Many  have  doubtless  read  the  beautiful 
story  of  the  young  girl  who  wore  about  her 
neck  a  locket  that  contained  the  secret  of 
her  own  pure  and  beautiful  life.  Her 
character  was  so  ripe  in  its  loveliness  that 

her  friends  wondered  while  they 
oi  a  beauti-   admired.     Into  the  locket  that 

hung    continually    about    her 
neck  no  one  had  been  permitted  to  look. 


The  Influence  of  Prayer  on  Man    51 

At  length,  however,  in  an  hour  of  sickness, 
one  of  her  closest  friends  was  allowed  to 
open  the  sacred  ornament,  and  there  she 
saw  the  words,  "  Whom  having  not  seen  I 
love."  That  was  the  secret  of  her  heav- 
enly life;  communion  with  the  unseen 
Christ  whom  she  loved  had  transfigured 
her  life  into  a  likeness  with  His  own.  To 
pray  is  to  become  Christ-like. 

But  what  are  some  of  the  more  particu- 
lar effects  of  prayer  on  the  soul  ?  It  would 
be  a  lengthy  task  even  to  endeavor  to  men- 
tion them  all,  but  here  are  some  of  the  best : 

1.  Prayer  enables  us  to  realize  the  pres- 
ence of  God.  Austin  Phelps  begins  his  little 
classic  on  *'The  Still  Hour"  by  quoting 
from  Bishop  Hall  his  lament,  "  If  God  had 
not  said.  Blessed  are  those  that  hunger,  I 
know  not  what  could  keep  weak  Chris- 
tians from  sinking  in  despair.  Many 
times,  all  I  can  do  is  to  com- 

I    .       1         T  TT-  1      •  1      Realizing 

plain  that  1  want  Him,  and  wish  the  presence 
to  recover  Him."   In  comment- 
ing   on   this    pathetic    utterance    Austin 
Phelps  says  it  only  echoes  the  wail  that  has 


52     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

come  down  through  all  living  hearts  from 
the  old  patriarch  when  he  cried,  '*Oh,  that 
I  knew  where  I  might  j&nd  Him."  This 
awful  consciousness  of  the  absence  of  God 
is  what,  so  many  complain,  makes  reli- 
gious life  so  unreal.  But  was  it  not  the 
Holy  Spirit  who  said,  "  Draw  nigh  to  God 
and  He  will  draw  nigh  to  you".?  and  is 
not  this  a  special  promise  for  the  hour  of 
prayer? 

He  has  promised  to  manifest  Himself  to 
those  who  love  Him  and  those  who  really 
love  Him  will  not  find  communion  with 
Him  tedious  and  irksome,  for  in  such 
sweet  hours  it  is  that  God  becomes  real 
as  at  no  other  time;  in  such  hours  so  close 
does  God  draw  nigh  that  you  can  close 
your  eyes  and  see  Him;  in  such  hours 
we  are  veritably  on  the  road  to 

A  road  that    -ry  1.1.1  *i.i 

is  open  to  ii<mmaus,  but  we  know  with 
traveller  whom  we  are  going.  We  hear 
others  tell  how  they  enjoy  the 
presence  of  God,  and  we  covet  a  like  expe- 
rience for  ourselves,  but  this  is  no  privilege 
for  the  favored  few;  what  has  been  for 


The  Influence  of  Prayer  on  Man     53 

others  in  this  respect  is  also  for  you  and 
me.  There  is  a  road  to  such  experience; 
it   is   that 

*'    .    .    .  Sweet  hour  of  prayer  I 

That  calls  us  from  a  world  of  care." 

If  we  would  experience  with  Edwards 
that  inward  sense  of  the  Divine  Presence 
which  he  describes  as  a  "calm,  sweet  ab- 
straction of  soul  from  the  concerns  of  this 
world  in  which  he  found  himself  rapt  and 
swallowed  up  in  God,"  it  must  be  found 
in  the  self  -  same  way  that  Edwards 
found  it. 

Truly  one  can  see  God  in  everything, 
but,  after  all,  one  can  see  Him  best  with 
his  eyes  shut.  Some  one  has  said  that 
prayer  is  a  closing  of  the  eyes  on  things 
seen  and  opening  them  on  things  unseen. 
There  is  a  legend  which  represents  Saint 
Bridget  engaged  in  holy  conversation  with 
a  devout  but  blind  nun  called  Dara.  It 
was  in  the  evening  as  the  sun  was  going 
down,  and  as  they  talked  of  God  and  Jesus 
and  of  heaven  they  did  not  notice  the 


54     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

hours  go  by  until  the  sun  came  back  in  the 
mornine*  and  threw  his  ffolden 

Seeing  with       . 

the  eyes  of  Hght  ovcr  the  bcautiful  land- 
scape, and  then  Bridget  wished 
that  Dara  might  see  the  beauties  which 
God  had  made.  She  prayed  and  touched 
Dara's  eyes  and  they  were  opened.  Dara 
looked  at  the  golden  sun,  at  the  rare  land- 
scape that  stretched  before  her,  at  the 
flowers  glistening  with  dew  drops  that 
shone  like  jewels,  and  all  the  glory  that 
was  spread  about  her.  After  a  while  she 
said,  "  Now  close  my  eyes  again,  for  w^hen 
the  world  is  so  visible  to  the  eyes,  God 
appears  less  clearly  to  the  soul." 

There  is  a  lesson  here  for  you  and  me. 
As  much  as  God  speaks  to  us  in  the  beau- 
ties and  wonders  of  the  world,  it  is  some- 
times well  to  shut  out  even  the  glories  of 
nature  that  brighter  visions  still  of  God 
may  fill  the  soul. 

2.  Prayer  impresses  the  mind  with  the 
real  character  of  God,  and  consequently 
tends  to  produce  in  us  a  disposition  con- 
sistent  therewith. 


U  The  Influence  of  Prayer  on  Man     55 

(a)  It  produces  holiness  of  heart.  When 
prayer  once  brings  man  into  the  felt  pres- 
ence of  his  God  and  reveals  to  him  some- 
thing of  God's  own  infinite  holi-  ^od's 
ness.  His   awe-inspirino-  purity  jffi""® 

'  r  n    r  J     holiness 

and  His  perfect  hatred  of  sin  revealed. 
there,  if  anywhere,  will  he  who  prays 
learn  to  abhor  himself,  to  loathe  his  own 
deep  sinfulness,  to  repent,  to  cleanse  his 
hands  and  purify  his  heart,  "perfecting 
holiness  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord." 

(6)  It  produces  humility  of  mind  —  so 
ornamental  to  Christian  character.     Paul 
was  like  the  rest  of  us  in  one  respect:  in 
danger  of  being  "  exalted  above  Man's 
due  measure."    Job  had  a  ffood  ^^signm- 

o  cance  made 

deal  to  say  about  himself.  It  manliest. 
was  all  Job:  what  Job  was  and  what  Jo6  had 
done,  until  God  took  him  to  task,  told  him 
to  gird  up  his  loins  and  answer  a  few  ques- 
tions, when  Job  learned  his  lesson — that 
he  was  but  a  worm  as  compared  with  God, 
and  he  went  down  in  the  dust  and  said, 
*'I  abhor  myself."  When  we  see  God's 
greatness  we  recognize  our  own  littleness. 


56     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

(c)  It  produces  peace  of  soul.  It  is 
written  in  the  Word,  "Thou  wilt  keep 
him  in  perfect  peace  whose  mind  is  stayed 
on  Thee,  for  he  trusteth  in  Thee.''  Trust- 
ing in  Him  is  something  altogether  differ- 
ent from  a  dumb  resignation  to  what  oc- 
curs because  there  is  no  help  for  it.  When 
we  come  to  know  the  heart  of  God,  whether 
we  fully  understand  His  mind  or  not. 
The  peace  wc  realize  that  He  is  a  kind  and 
that  passes     compassionatc    and    almio-hty 

understand-  Jt^  o      *' 

ing.  Friend  and  that  we  can  trust 

ourselves  to  Him  amid  all  the  storms  and 
distractions  of  this  world.  *'  Casting  all 
your  care  upon  Him,  for  He  careth  for 
thee,"  and  you  will  find  worry  giving  place 
to  a  calm  and  quiet  resting  upon  God  for 
everything  which  He  knows  is  best  for  His 
child  to  have.  Every  praying  Christian 
knows  this  is  true.  It  is  the  prayerful 
Christian  who  can  sing: 

*'  When  peace  like  a  river  attendeth  my  way, 
And  sorrows  like  sea  billows  roll, 
Whate'er  be  my  lot,  Thou  hast  taught  me  to  say, 
It  is  well,  it  is  well  with  my  soul." 


The  Influence  of  Prayer  on  Man     51 

(d)  It  produces  that  submission  of  will 
which  is  one  of  the  chief  conditions  of  ac- 
ceptable approach  unto  God.  More  ele- 
ments than  one  enter  into  true  religion. 
To  be  truly  religious  is  to  do  ^  ^, 

J  n  God's  will 

the  will  of  God.  But  Liddon  made 
has  shown  us  how  prayer  is  also  than  man's 
religion  in  action.  To  pray  is  °^^  ^*^' 
not  only  to  put  the  affections  in  motion, 
the  will  in  motion,  but  the  understanding 
in  motion  as  well.  Thus  in  prayer  one 
comes  to  see  that  other  interests  than  his 
own  are  in  the  hands  of  God,  that  what 
He  asks  might  not  in  the  end  be  best,  and 
that  in  view  of  God's  infinite  wisdom  He 
must  know  what  is  best,  in  view  of  His 
infinite  justice  He  must  do  what  is  best, 
and  in  view  of  His  perfect  love  He  must 
desire  what  is  best,  and  so  believing  with 
all  his  heart  that  even  as  God  hath  said, 
"All  thinefs  work  together  for 

.  God  Is 

good  to  them  that  love  Him,"  always  on 
he  can  say  with  becoming  grace,  °"^  ^^^^' 
*'  Thy  will,  O  God,  and  not  mine,  be  done." 
God  is  always  on  our  side ;  it  is  necessary 


58     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

sometimes  to  pray  ourselves  over  to  His 
side.  It  was  Dr.  Cuyler  who  said,  "  The 
pull  of  our  prayer  may  not  move  the  ev- 
erlasting throne,  but,  like  the  pull  on  a  line 
from  the  bow  of  a  boat,  it  may  draw  us 
into  closer  fellowship  with  God  and  fuller 
harmony  with  His  wise  and  holy  will." 

3.  Prayer,  by  directing  the  thoughts 
towards  that  which  is  holiest  and  besti 
tends  to  elevate  and  ennoble  the  soul. 
Paul  tells  us  to  think  on  things  that  are 
lovely  and  pure,  on  things  that  are  honest 
and  true,  and  to  such  things  no  man  can 
direct  his  mind  without  becom- 
Influence  of  ing  better  for  it.  "As  a  man 
a  high  1  ea .  |-jjjj^]^g^j^  jj^  j^jg  j^gart  SO  is  he." 

Even  a  man's  face  changes  according  to 
the  nature  of  his  thoughts  and  reflects  the 
soul  that  has  formed  within  him.  It  is 
Hillis  who  says,  *'He  who  sows  foul 
thoughts  shall  reap  the  foul  countenance 
of  a  fiend.  He  who  sows  pure  thoughts 
shall  reap  the  sweetness  and  nobility  of 
the  face  of  Fra  Angelico."  Thus  prayer 
has  also  its  physical  effects. 


The  Influence  of  Prayer  on  Man    59 

4.  Prayer  tends  to  keep  the  soul  sensi- 
tive to  spiritual  impression  and  receptive 
to  spiritual  influence.  Some  one  has 
painted  a  picture  of  a  woman  mourning 
by  the  seaside.  The  look  on  her  face  is 
that  of  hopeless  despair  as  she  sits  on  the 
low  rocks  with  her  eyes  fixed 
upon  the  black  waters  beneath  and  recep- 
which  the  treasures  of  her  heart 
have  gone  down.  Just  above  her  almost 
touching  her  mourning  robes  hovers  the 
shadowy  form  of  an  angel  with  a  harp 
filling  the  air  about  her  with  the  soft, 
sweet  strains  of  music.  But  the  woman, 
absorbed  in  dumb,  unconscious  grief,  is 
not  aware  of  the  angel's  nearness,  nor  does 
she  hear  the  heavenly  consolation  his  harp 
would  speak. 

Something  not  very  different  from  that 

is  sometimes  true  of  us.     We  sometimes 

through  neglect  of  prayer  allow  our  minds 

and   our  hearts  to  become  so 

1  1    I'c       1  Look  up 

centered  on  the  earthly  lire  about  and  not 

n       J  ii        down. 

US,  our  eyes  so  nxed  upon  the 

dusty  soil  at  our  feet,  that  we  are  not 


60     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

only  often  unconscious  of  what  is  and 
what  otherwise  would  prove  for  us  to  be 
the  very  presence  of  God,  but  our  spiritual 
senses,  through  lack  of  exercise,  are  un- 
able to  appreciate  what  in  reality  is  the 
choicest  good  that  can  come  from  God. 
But  not  so  the  one  who  is  "instant  in 
prayer."  Such  a  one  God  always  finds 
with  a  soul  open  and  receptive  into  which 
He  can  pour  the  blessings  of  His  Spirit 
and  with  a  soul  so  cultivated  that  His 
blessings  are  rightly  appreciated  when 
they  come. 

The  natural  position  of  the  hands  when 
stretched  out  to  God  in  prayer  is  with  up- 
turned palms  as  if  to  receive  and  hold  the 
blessing  they  would  have.  This,  too,  is 
the  attitude  of  the  prayerful  soul — ever 
upturned  to  receive  what  God  will  give. 

5.  Prayer  impresses  the  mind  with  a 
becoming  sense  of  our  dependence  upon 
God.  He  who  is  the  source  of  our  life, 
both  physical  and  spiritual,  is  also  the 
source  of  its  sustenance.  "In  Him  we 
live  and  move  and  have  our  being."    We 


The  Influence  of  Prayer  on  Man     61 

could  not  live  without  Him,   neither   in 
the  one  sense  nor  in  the  other.     But  if 
we  were  privileged  to  come  to 
God  but  once  in  many  months  of  iife° 
or  years,  how  would  we  not  be-  ^  HZzIa 
come  thoughtless  of  God  in  the 
busy  endeavor  to  take  care  of  ourselves? 
We  might  keep  physically  alive  this  way; 
animals  do.    But  what  about  our  spiritual 
life.? 

It  was  a  command  of  Zoroaster  that  his 
followers  should  at  stated  times  extinguish 
the  fires  on  their  hearths  and  rekindle 
them  from  the  sacred  fire  in  the  temple  in 
order  that  they  might  not  forget  that  fire 
was  a  gift  from  heaven.  How  can  we  not 
remember  this  of  the  gift  of  spiritual  life 
and  strength  as  well  as  physical  sustenance 
when  we  are  privileged  to  "pray  without 
ceasing,"  and  are  taught  to  pray,  "  Give  us 
this  day  our  daily  bread ".^^ 

6.  Prayer  is  a  promoter  of  activity.  It 
puts  us  at  the  disposal  of  God  for  our  part 
in  bringing  about  the  thing  we  have  de- 
sired of  Him.     Unless  we  are  thus  ready 


62     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

to  be  used  of  God  we  can  have  no  guar- 
antee that  our  praying  has  been  in  any 
sense  acceptable.  Prayer  was 
An  earnest  ucver  intended  as  a  substitute 
wm^riways  f <5i'  earnest  self-sacrificing  effort, 
lead  to  g^j.  Jq  yQ^  think  that  any  one 

earnest  •/  J 

eflfort.  can  earnestly  pray,  *'  Thy  king- 

dom come"  and  then  use  the 
time  God  has  given  him  as  though  he  little 
cared  whether  it  ever  came  or  not.^  Do 
you  think  that  any  one  could  ever  ear- 
nestly pray  for  the  salvation  of  a  friend 
without  rising  from  his  knees  and  seeking 
out  if  possible  that  friend  that  he  might 
urge  him  to  Christ  and  help  him  on  his 
way  to  God.^  To  pray  in  any  other  way 
may  relieve  somewhat  the  conscience  of  a 
\  not  very  conscientious  Christian,  but  God 
\l  is  not  deceived  thereby.  What  labor  can- 
not do  prayer  often  will  do,  but  prayer  will 
never  do  what  labor  can  do  for  itself,  save 
as  it  inspires  a  man  to  such  effort  as  may 
be  necessary  to  do  it. 

A  pastor  once  said  to  the  young  people 
of  his  congregation,  **I  want  you  to  spend 


The  Influence  of  Prayer  on  Man     63 

fifteen  minutes  every  day  praying  for  mis- 
sions; but  beware  how  you  pray,  for  I 
warn  you  it  is  a  very  costly  ex- 
periment."       "Costly!"    they  The  cost 

,       ,     .  .  .  •'of  praying 

asked,  ni  surprise.  "Aye,  cost-  for  missions. 
ly,"  he  reiterated,  "when  Carey 
began  to  pray  for  the  conversion  of  the 
world,  it  cost  him  himself,  and  it  cost 
those  who  prayed  with  him  very  much. 
Brainerd  prayed  for  the  dark-skinned  sav- 
ages, and  after  two  years  of  blessed  work 
it  cost  him  his  life.  Two  students  began 
to  pray  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  to  send 
forth  more  servants  into  the  harvest,  and 
lo!  it  is  going  to  cost  our  country  five 
thousand  young  men  and  women  who 
have,  in  answer  to  this  prayer,  pledged 
themselves  to  the  work.  Be  sure,  it  is  a 
serious  thing  to  pray  in  earnest  for  this 
v^ork;  you  will  find  that  you  cannot  pray 
and  withhold  your  labor,  or  pray  and 
withhold  your  money ;  nay,  that  your  very 
life  will  no  longer  be  your  own  when  your 
prayers  begin  to  be  answered." 

Prayer  always  intensifies  the  heart's  de- 


64     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

sire  and  the  very  act  of  praying  opens  the 
eyes  of  the  supplicant  to  the  obligation 
upon  him  for  the  answer  to  the  prayer  he 
has  offered. 


Ill 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  PRAYER  ON  GOD 

"  The  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much." — 
Jas.  5: 16. 

"Ask  what  I  shall  give  thee." — 1  Kings  3:  5. 

In  the  foregoing  section  we  have  seen 
some  of  what  may  be  reasonably  consid- 
ered the  reflex  or  subjective  effects  of 
prayer;  that  is,  what  prayer  means  indi- 
rectly to  the  one  who  prays. 

But  we  have  already  said  that  prayer 
means  primarily  petition,  and  unless  it 
can  be  shown  that  the  world's  uncounted 
supplicants  are  consciously  practicing  a 
species  of  trickery  upon  them-  ^^^  ^.^.^^^ 
selves  with  a  view  to  their  moral  efficacy 

Tn       .'  1.  /¥      •  1         °'  prayer. 

edmcation  by  oitermg  up  de- 
sires to  God  without  any  expectation  of 
having  them  answered,  or,  on  the  other 
hand,  be  clearly  proven  that  God  is  indis- 
posed or  unable  to  heed  the  cry  of  the 
human  heart,  may  we  not  reasonably  ex- 

65 


66     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

pect  that  prayer  has  also  an  objective  or 
direct  efl&cacy,  that  it  has,  in  other  words, 
an  influence  on  God  Himself  and  leads 
Him  to  do  for  us  what  otherwise  He  would 
have  no  occasion  to  do? 

What  is  the  ground  of  this  expectation? 

"'^  The  argument  from  instinct  is  not 
without  weight.  The  belief  that  prayer  is 
heard  and  answerea  is  as  universal  as  is 
the  impulse  itself  to  pray.  The  one  is  an 
instinct  as  well  as  the  other.  Never  has 
beast  or  bird  been  led  astray  by  their  God- 
given  instinct,  and  do  you  think  that  God 
would  plant  an  instinct  so  holy  in  the 
human  soul  which  either  His  indifference 
or  His  impotence  would  lead  Him  to  dis- 
appoint? The  imprisoned  vine  struggles 
away  toward  the  cellar  window 
suppiylind  ^^d  fiuds  the  light  the  uncon- 
thrworid"  scious  impulsc  of  its  nature  im- 
pels it  to  seek.  The  robin  flies 
away  before  the  winter's  chill  and  finds 
the  genial  clime  to  which  its  inborn  sense 
urged  it  on.  Man's  physical  nature  also 
has  its  God-given  adaptability  and  ap- 


The  Influence  of  Prayer  on  God    67 

petency  for  just  what  is  needed  in  order  to 
its  life.  With  these  things  God  is  lavish. 
The  ear  has  but  to  listen ;  the  world  is  full 
of  sound.  The  eye  has  but  to  open;  there 
is  sunlight  all  around.  The  lungs  have 
but  to  expand;  the  exhaustless  air  will  fill 
them.  The  heart  has  but  to  unlock  its 
fleshy  door;  the  veins  are  at  its  threshold 
with  blood.  But  what  about  man's  spir- 
itual nature.?  Must  it  alone  be  doomed  to 
disappointment.?  Must  the  soul  struggle 
on  towards  God  and  its  eyes  be 
left  in  darkness  because  heaven  ment  from 
has  no  light  to  give.?  Must  it  *"*^°^^' 
soar  up  on  wings  of  faith  and  hope  and 
find  no  atmosphere  in  which  to  breathe 
and  live.?  Must  it  strain  its  ears  and  catch 
no  sound  of  heaven's  voice  or  music? 
Must  it  breathe  out  its  prayer  to  God  and 
then  suffocate  for  want  of  heaven's  sweet 
elixir.?  Must  it  open  its  heart  and  wait 
for  God  to  fill  it  and  go  away  empty  be- 
cause God  has  no  favors  to  bestow.? 

2.  There    is   argument   from  the  very 
nature  of  God,  if  so  be  that  He  is  a  per- 


68     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

sonal,  kind-hearted,  potent  Being  who  can 
consistently  grant  the  petition  we  desire 
of  Him. 

There  is  (^)  That  there  is  a  God  we  will 
a  God.  jjQ^  even  stop  to  argue.     We 

hope  none  of  us  are  atheists. 

ih)  That  He  is  a  personal  Being  is  not 
worth  the  while  to  argue  in  these  days  of 
A  personal  advauccd  thought,  even  if  He 
God.  were  not  so  revealed  in  Scrip- 

ture. Of  course  He  is  personal.  Reason 
will  not  be  satisfied  with  a  God  who  is 
merely  an  unseen,  unthinking,  unfeeling 
force  in  the  universe.  Prayer  to  such  a 
God  would  of  course  be  fruitless. 

(c)  That  He  is  kindhearted:  who  for  a 
moment  could  doubt  it.^  Shall  we,  the 
A  kind-  crcaturcs  of  His  hand,  be  kind 
hearted  God.  ^^^  considerate  of  each  other, 
and  He  who  planted  such  feelings  in  our 
breasts  be  Himself  without  them.^  Man's 
deepest  feeling  tells  him  God  is  good;  the 
providence  we  experience  proclaims  it, 
and  how  tenderly  is  it  revealed  in  Jesus 
and  in  His  teachings  about  the  Father- 


The  Influence  of  Prayer  on  God    69 

hood  of  God;  and  shall  an  earthly  parent 
know  how  to  love  his  children  and  bestow 
good  gifts  upon  them  and  the  Divine 
Father  be  a  stranger  to  an  instinct  of 
which  He  is  the  author  in  His  offspring? 

(d)  That  He  is  j^otent:  how  could  He  be 
otherwise  and  be  the  God  of  the  universe? 
Shall   He   who   made   the   ele-  a  potent 
ments  not  control  them?    Shall  ^°^- 

He  "who  made  the  universe  by  His 
power"  be  shut  outside  His  own  creation, 
a  helpless  spectator  impotent  to  use  the 
very  laws  of  which  He  is  the  author? 

(e)  That  He  can  consistently  answer  pe- 
tition we  shall  see  further  on. 

But  we  have  something  better  than  ar- 
gument for  our  belief  in  this  matter.  We 
have  the  sure  Word  of  the  Lord. 

3.  We  are  commanded  thus  to  pray 
and  given  specific  promise  of  the  answer. 
If  prayer  was  intended  for  nothing  more 
than  its  reflexive  influence  on  the  suppli- 
cant, what  did  the  Lord  mean  by  saying, 
"All  things  w^hatsoever  ye  ask  in  prayer, 
believing,  ye  shall  receive"?  (Matt.21 :  22.) 


Kl 


70     Hoio  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

What  did  the  Master  mean  by  saying,  "  I\ 
ye  then  being  evil  know  how  to 

The  words  •  •pi      .  ^  '^  j  i_ 

01  Christ  give  giits  to  your  children,  now 
utteSnce  Hiuch  more  shall  your  Father 
who  is  in  heaven  give  good 
things  to  them  that  ask  Him"?  (Matt. 
7: 11.)  How  any  human  being,  with  all 
his  prejudice  and  all  his  preconceived 
ideas,  can,  in  the  face  of  such  Scripture 
and  a  Bible  full  of  other  Scripture  just  like 
it — how  he  can  honestly  affirm  that  it  is 
not  God's  plan  to  bestow  His  favors  for 
the  right  kind  of  asking,  is  the  hard  thing 
after  all  for  the  simple,  believing  spirit  to 
understand. 

For  those  who  teach  that  the  efficacy  of 
prayer  ceases  with  its  reflexive  influence 
there  are  some  good  words  in  Patton's  re- 
markable volume  on  *'  Prayer  and  Its  An- 
swers." After  quoting  several  passages 
from  F.  W.  Robertson  in  which  prayer  is 
resolved  into  mere  submission,  and  we  are 
advised  to  "pray  until  prayer  makes  us 
cease  to  pray";  and  after  a  passage  from 
a  letter  of  a  ministerial  friend  who  says, 


The  Influence  of  Prayer  on  God    71 

**  The  true  value  of  prayer  is  that  it  stops 
people  from  wanting  what  they  can't 
eet,"    Dr.  Patton  goes   on  to 

o     '  °  Dr.   Patton's 

apply  this  theory  to    some    ot  reply  to  Dr. 
the    Master's    teaching  about 
prayer.    We  are  told  to  asky  to  seeJc^  and 
to  knock. 

*' Imagine,"  he  says,  "a  child  asking  for 
some  favor,  or  for  the  relief  of  some  want, 
and  standing  hour  after  hour,  repeating 
his  requests,  and  being  told  by  the  father : 
*Go  on  asking,  my  child;  it  does  you 
much  good  to  ask.  The  longer  you  ask 
the  more  good  it  will  do  you.  Do  not  ex- 
pect to  receive  anything,  however,  as  the 
principal  benefit  of  asking  is  that,  by  and 
by,  you  will  not  want  anything,  and  will 
cease  to  make  any  request.'  Imagine  a 
mother  seeking  a  lost  child.  She  looks 
through  the  house  and  along  the  streets, 
then  searches  the  fields  and  woods  and 
examines  the  river  banks.  A  wise  neigh- 
bor meets  her  and  says:  'seek  on;  look 
everywhere;  search  every  accessible  place. 
You  will  not  find,  indeed,  but  then  seeking 


72     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

is  a  good  thing.  It  puts  the  mind  on  the 
stretch;  it  fixes  the  attention;  it  aids  ob- 
servation; it  makes  the  idea  of  the  child 
very  real.  And  then,  after  a  while,  you 
will  cease  to  want  your  child.'  Imagine  a 
man  knocking  at  the  door  of  a  house,  long 
and  loud.  After  he  has  done  this  for  an 
hour,  a  window  opens  and  the  occupant  of 
the  house  puts  out  his  head  and  says: 
'  That  is  right,  my  friend ;  I  shall  not  open 
the  door,  but  then,  keep  on  knocking.  It 
is  excellent  exercise,  and  you  will  be  the 
healthier  for  it.  Knock  away  till  sun- 
down, and  then  come  and  knock  all  day 
to-morrow.  After  some  days  thus  spent 
you  will  attain  to  a  state  of  mind  in  which 
you  will  no  longer  care  to  come  in.'  Is 
this  what  Jesus  intended  us  to  understand 
when  He  said,  'Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive; 
seek,  and  you  shall  find;  knock,  and  it 
shall  be  opened  unto  you/  No  doubt," 
says  the  author  we  have  quoted,  "one 
would  thus  soon  cease  to  ask,  to  seek, 
and  to  knock;  but  would  it  not  be  from 
disgust?" 


The  Influence  of  Prayer  on  God    73 

If  prayer  does  not,  cannot  obtain,  its 
very  name  and  act  is  a  mockery;  and  the 
injunction  thus  to  pray  a  cruel  deceit  on 
the  part  of  God. 

4.  But,  again,  we  have  occurring  all 
about  us  the  practical  demonstration  that 
God  does  answer  prayer.  The  Bible  is 
full  of  recorded  instances  and  human  his- 
tory is  packed  with  others.  In  this  respect 
all  saints  have  shared  alike. 
When  Hannah  came  to  God  ®™^ 
with  definite  request  and  ear-  ^^^°^ 
nestly  prayed,  God's  priest  bade 
her  go  in  peace;  in  peace  she  went  away 
and  later  came  again,  and  to  the  priest 
she  said,  "  Lord,  my  lord,  as  thy  soul  liv- 
eth,  my  lord,  I  am  the  woman  that  stood 
by  thee  here,  praying  unto  the  Lord.  For 
this  child  I  prayed  and  the  Lord  hath  given 
me  my  petition  which  I  asked  of  Him." 
And  this  has  been  the  experience  of  mil- 
lions who  have  prayed  the  prayer  of  faith.. 

Prayer  does  influence  God's  actions  in 
our  favor.  Prayer  does  "move  the  arm 
that  moves  the  world."    Prayer  does  have 


practically 
demon- 
strated. 


74     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

a  direct  as  well  as  an  indirect  effect;  and 
the  influence  it  thus  exerts  with  God  se-- 
cures  for  us  blessings  both  of  a  spiritual 
and  a  physical  nature. 

Think  just  a  moment  of  the  spiritual 
The  soul  benefit:  The  direct  impartation 
b^^the^*'*"^^  o/  spiritual  power  by  which  the 
direct  im-  soul  is  strengthened  and  invig- 
spirituai  oratcd  for  the  life  that  God 
P*"^"'  would  have  us  live. 

We  recall  just  here  the  difficulty  Her- 
cules found  in  overcoming  the  giant  An- 
taeus.    He  could  slay  the  lion  or  any  other 
shape  of  beast  or  man,  but  in  Antaeus  he 
met  more  than  his  match,  until 

Hercules  i    i        t  it 

overcoming  at  length  hc  discovered  the  source 

Antaeus.        ^£  j^-^    s|-j.gjjg^^]j    ^jj^J    cutting    the 

connection  he  slew  his  fierce  antagonist. 
As  long  as  Antaeus  was  in  contact  with  the 
earth  he  was  enriched  with  a  power  that 
made  him  victor  over  all  who  came  against 
him.  He  was  defeated  by  being  lifted  from 
the  earth  and  crushed  while  in  the  air. 
So  with  him  who  puts  himself  in  connection 
with  God  in  prayer.    Just  how  we  cannot 


The  Influence  of  Prayer  on  God    15 

tell — we  need  not — but  God  does  lend  His 
strength  to  such  a  soul.  "My  grace  is 
sufficient  for  thee ;  for  my  strength  is  made 
perfect  in  weakness,"  was  His  word  to 
Paul,  and  Paul  is  not  alone  in  such  experi- 
ence, for  who  that  has  kept  in  prayerful 
touch  with  God  has  not  been  able  to  look 
back  upon  some  time  of  special  need  and 
know  that  heaven's  grace  was  given  to 
preserve  and  keep  the  soul. 

The  affections  are  purified;  the  mind  is 
quickened;  the  will  is  energized  and  the 
whole  man  made  strong.    God  ^^^  ^^ 
makes  Himself  over  to  us,  so  to  ra&n's 
speak;  He  bids  us  receive  Him- 
self in  all  His  illimitable  fullness,  and  such 
receiving  means  a  life  of  beauty,  a  life  of 
peace  and  a  life  of  power.    It  means  the 
heroic  life,  and  all  God's  heroes  are  men 
of  prayer. 

There  are  some  who  would  limit  the 
direct  efficacy  of  prayer  to  spiritual  bless- 
ing. But  recently  such  a  position  was 
taken  by  the  occupant  of  a  certain  sup- 
posedly orthodox  pulpit.    Prayer  for  ma- 


76     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

terial  blessing  he  characterized  as   igno- 
rance,  cowardice    and    superstition.     In 
commenting;  on  the  sermon  one 

Direct  r 

efficacy  of  of  the  leading  dailies  said  that, 
to^be^iimited  "Probably  no  superstitious 
wesSng."*^  heathen  idea  has  so  long  per- 
sisted in  the  ideas  and  practices 
of  Christianity  as  that  of  the  direct  per- 
sonal response  of  the  Supreme  Being  to 
the  petitions  of  individuals  for  purely 
material  things." 

But  this  is  not  the  word  of  Scripture. 
It  is  not  the  testimony  of  experience.  The 
will  of  Almighty  God  rules  in  the  material 
as  well  as  in  the  spiritual  universe,  and  if 
He  has  told  us  to  pray  we  may  be  sure  that 
somehow  He  has  made  room  in  His  plan 
of  government  for  prayer  as  a  determining 
factor  in  the  course  of  events. 

But  what  intellectual  short-sightedness 
to   admit  such   efficacy   in  the  spiritual 

intellectual    ^^^]^  ^^d  deny  it  in  the  ma- 
short-  terial !    Does  not  God's  ffovern- 

sightedness.  ^  •      i  i 

ment  extend  over  the  mind  and 
heart  and  will,  and  are  there  no  laws  in 


The  Influence  of  Prayer  on  God    77 

the  spiritual  world?  Unless  these  ques- 
tions are  answered  in  the  negative,  and  in 
the  negative  no  sane  man  will  think  of 
answering  them,  it  does  not  take  very 
close  thinking  to  see  that  whatever  objec- 
tion may  be  brought  against  the  answering 
of  prayer  in  the  material  world,  if  they  be 
true,  are  equally  true  for  the  spiritual 
world. 

Here  is  something  good  from  Austin 
Phelps;  it  fits  admirably  just  here; 

*'  In  the  mind  of  God,  we  may  be  assured,  the 
conception  of  prayer  is  no  fiction,  whatever  man 
may  think  of  it.  It  has,  and  God  has  determined 
that  it  should  have,  a  positive  and  an  appreciable 
influence  in  directing  the  course  of  a  human  life. 
It  is,  and  God  has  proposed  that  it  should  be,  a 
link  of  connection  between  the  human  mind  and 
the  divine  mind,  by  which,  through  His  infinite 
condescension,  we  may  actually  move  His  will. 

"  It  is,  and  God  has  decreed  that  it  should  be, 
a  power  in  the  universe,  as  distinct,  as  real,  as 
natural,  as  imiform,  as  the  power  of  gravitation 
or  of  light  or  of  electricity. 

"  A  man  may  use  it  as  trustingly  and  as  soberly 
as  he  would  use  either  of  these.     It  is  as  truly  the 


78     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

dictate  of  good  sense  that  a  man  should  expect  to 
achieve  something  by  praying  as  it  is  that  he 
should  expect  to  achieve  something  by  a  telescope 
or  the  mariner's  compass  or  the  electric  tele- 
graph." 


?|oto  Can  <@ob  9nfi(ttier  draper? 


GOD'S  DIGNITY  AND  MAN'S  INSIGNIF- 
ICANCE 

"What  is  man  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him?" — 
Ps.  8:4. 

While  affirming  the  Scripture  doctrine 
of  prayer  we  cannot  here  be  unmindful 
that  many  earnest  Christians  are  not  a 
Httle  embarrassed  with  a  vagueness  of  be- 
lief and  even  skeptical  suggestions  as  to 
the  need  of  prayer  and  whether  God  can 
or  does  really  answer  prayer  in  case  one 
prays. 

Before  passing  to  the  more  practical 
discussion  of  what  constitutes  real  pray- 
ing, if  anything  helpful  can  be  said  to  one 
who  is  beset  with  the  difficulties  just  men- 
tioned, it  ought  to  be  said  just  here.  The 
following  few  pages  are  not,  therefore, 
meant  in  any  sense  as  a  reply  to  the  "  mod- 
ern thinker"  with  his  scientific  (?)  objec- 
tion to  prayer.    It  is  barely  possible  that 

81 


82     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

even  a  "modern  thinker"  may  have  a 
little  yet  to  learn,  and  after  we  have  all 
gotten  through  down  here,  is  it  not  still 
The  primer  barely  possible  that  some  things 
the°^o°dern  will  be  made  a  little  plainer 
thinker."  ^p  there?  But  the  one  thing 
that  the  "modern  thinker"  ought  to 
learn  first  is  the  one  thing  from  which 
he  is  probably  farthest  away,  namely, 
that  he  can  learn  more  about  God  and 
the  mysteries  of  His  government  through 
his  conscience  and  his  heart  and  actual 
obedience  to  the  Word  of  God  than  he 
ever  can  with  all  his  brains  when  these 
things  are  forgotten. 

But  what  we  are  now  to  say  is  said  to 
relieve,  if  possible,  and  possible  to  a  large 
degree  it  certainly  is,  the  embarrassment 
Earnest  ^^  mind  Concerning  this  matter 
Christians      that  anuovs  at  times  even  the 

perplexed.  ^J"   .     .  ^^ 

earnest  Christian.  You  esteem 
highly  the  privilege  of  prayer;  you  feel 
quite  sure  you  would  rather  comfort  your- 
self with  God's  promise  to  answer  prayer 
than  anything  man  might  say  to  prove  the 


Gocfs  Dignity  and  Mart's  Insignificance  83 

answer  to  prayer  a  reasonable  thing,  and 
yet  you  have  found  your  mind  at  times 
searching  after  a  purely  rationalistic  basis 
upon  which  to  ground  the  possibility  of 
answered  prayer,  and  the  search  has 
landed  you  in  something  of  perplexity  and 
possibly  not  a  little  doubt.  Confused 
somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  Nicodemus 
in  his  attempt  to  understand  the  mystery 
of  regeneration,  you  find  yourself  saying 
to  yourself  as  he  did  to  Christ,  "  How  can 
these  things  be?" 

It  is  not,  of  course,  to  be  presumed  that 
one   must  refrain  from  prayer  until   he 
thoroughly  understand  whatever  mystery 
may  surround  the  subject.    As 
well  refrain  from  wearing  the  ^°°^^^Yi. 
warm  garment  until  there  are 
no  mysteries  surrounding  the  process  by 
which  the  grass  growing  on  the  hillside  is 
converted,  after  entering  the  sheep's  stom- 
ach, into  wool  growing  on  its  back.     As 
well   refrain   from   eating   till   you   have 
learned  the  chemical  constituents  of  the 
food  of  which  you  are  about  to  partake. 


84     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

Yet  we  are  told  to  love  God  with  our  mind 
and  so  far  as  our  reason  will  take  us  we 
are  certainly  privileged  and  obligated  to 
go,  but  reason  is  bounded,  and  were  we  to 
believe  nothing  but  what  we  can  under- 
stand, we  leave  no  room  for  faith  at  all 
and  both  worlds  become  cold  and  dark 
and  cheerless.  What  transcends  reason 
you  may  be  asked  to  believe,  but  what  can 
be  shown  to  be  contrary  to  reason  you 
never  will  be  asked  to  endorse. 

Some  of  these  prayer  perplexities  we  are 
now  going  to  examine. 

One  of  them  relates  to  the  infinite  dignity 
and  exalted  character  of  God.  How  can 
such  a  Being  concern  Himself  with  the 
'petty  affairs  of  so  insignificant  a  creature 
as  I  ?  Is  it  not  a  piece  of  inexcusable  pre- 
sumption as  well  as  derogatory  to  the 
character  of  the  Almighty  to  suppose  that 
God's  On^  so  glorious  and  so  infinitely 

greatness^  great  cau  stoop  to  an  interest  in 
Insignia-  the  concerns  of  man  who,  after 
all  that  can  be  said  about  his 
position  among  created  things,  is  but  "a 


G6cVs  Dignity  and  Man's  Insignificance  85 

worm  crawling  on  the  surface  of  one  of 
God's  smallest  planets"? 

We  reply  to  the  one  who  is  thus  think- 
ing, that  your  idea  of  true  dignity  is  false 
and  mistaken.  Such  dignity  as  you  have 
in  mind  often  belongs  to  human  royalties, 
but  is  in  itself  beneath  the  true  dignity  of 
the  King  of  kings.  You  have  thought  such 
condescension  to  be  unworthy  of  One  so 
exalted,  whereas  it  is  one  of  His  brightest 
glories  that  His  love  and  His  care  extends 
to  the  small  and  insignificant  as  well  as 
the  great  and  important.  The  ^^^^ 
God  who  paints  the  evening  conception 
sunset  is  the  God  who  touches 
the  butterfly's  wing  with  its  gorgeous  hues. 
The  God  who  planned  the  organ  harmony 
of  the  spheres  is  the  God  who  fashioned 
with  such  delicate  care  that  sweetest  of 
musical  instruments  in  the  throat  of  the 
nightingale.  He  feeds  the  fowls,  clothes 
the  grass  and  arrays  the  lilies  in  their  more 
than  Solomon-like  glory.  Are  you  not  as 
important  as  these? 

It  was  not  beneath   God's  dignity  to 


86     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

create  so  unimportant  a  being  as  yourself. 
Why,  then,  should  His  glory  be  tarnished 
if  He  lends  His  thought  to  your  wants  and 
your  necessities?  Augustus  Thompson 
has  well  said,  *'  If  He  numbers  your  hairs, 
will  He  not  also,  your  tears?" 

But,  after  this  truth  is  gratefully  appre- 
ciated, let  us  be  reminded  in  the  next  place 
that  the  perplexity  in  question  arises 
partly  from  a  mistaken  conception  of 
man's  true  place  in  creation.  You  have 
thought  of  this  vast  universe  with  its  im- 
measurable space  filled  with  innumerable 
worlds  swinging  about  each 
other,  and  you  have  thought  of 
God  as  having  something  more 
important  to  do  than  to  busy  Himself  with 
the  trivial  affairs  of  so  unimportant  a  be- 
ing as  yourself.  But  possibly  in  God's 
estimation  man  is  not  of  such  infinitesimal 
consequence  after  all.  Bulk  is  not  the 
highest  test  of  greatness.  If  it  were,  the 
question,  "Of  how  much  more  value  is 
man  than  a  sheep?"  would  find  its  answer 
in  the  difference  of  avoirdupois.     But  if 


God^'s  Dignity  and  Man's  Insignificance  87 

man  reads   aright  the  Word  of  God  he 
will  know  that  he  outweighs  in  worth  ten 
thousand  times  all    the    sheep  Manhood 
the  world  has  ever  held;    and  »»*  ^^^^ 

.       .         ured  by 

if  he  interpret  aright  the  signifi-  inches  o 
cance  of  his  mental  and  moral  ^°""  ^* 
endowments,  if  he  seriously  reflecV  upon 
his  place  and  influence  in  the  developing 
world  of  which  he  is  a  part,  he  will  not  find 
it  hard  to  believe  that  God  has  crowned 
him  with  a  glory  and  honor  far  above  all 
the  other  forms  of  life  about  him;  and 
unless  a  huge  bulk  of  senseless  matter  is 
nobler  than  that  which  lives  and  feels,  and 
unless  this  last  be  nobler  than  that  which 
thinks  and  aspires  after  God,  we  need  not 
feel  that  man  is  too  insignificant  and  of  too 
little  worth  to  attract  the  attention  and  the 
care  of  Him  whose  handiwork  he  is.  Man 
is  God's  own  child;  he  is  "Nature's  scep- 
tered  king";  for  his  coming  God  had  bus- 
ied Himself  preparing  the  earth  through 
all  the  untold  ages  of  the  past;  and  unless 
God,  who  is  Himself  all  intelligence  and 
goodness,  is  more  interested  in  things  than 


88     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

He  is  in  souls;  unless  He  is  more  con- 
^^A  ^1,        cerned  about  the  fowls  of  the 

God  will 

Interest         air  than  He  is  about  the  child 

himself  in  „        . 

his  own        of  His  owu  Hkeuess,  we  need 
not  feel  that  He  is  too  exalted 
or  too  busy  to  take  account  and  care  for 
even  you  and  me. 

**  I  know  not  where  His  islands 
Lift  their  fronded  palms  in  air; 
I  only  know  I  cannot  drift 
Beyond  His  love  and  care." 


II 


WHY  PRAY  IF   GOD  KNOWS   AND   IS 
KIND? 

"  Your  heavenly  Father  knoweth  what  things  ye 
have  need  of,  before  ye  ask  Him." — Matt.  6:8. 

A  second  perplexity  shapes  itself  thus: 
Is  not  God  all-knowing?  Why,  then,  tell 
Him  that  with  which  He  is  already  famil- 
iar? And  is  He  not  kindhearted  and  be- 
nevolent and  therefore  infinitely  disposed 
to  supply  all  our  needs  without  any  asking 
on  our  part?  Does  not,  indeed,  our  im- 
portuning imply  an  unreadiness  on  His 
part  to  give,  and  is  it  not  therefore  an 
affront  to  Him? 

Yes,  "Your  heavenly  Father  knoweth 
what  things  ye  have  need  of  before  ye  ask 
Him,"  but  He  has  told  us,  nevertheless,  to 
pray,  and  whatever  His  design  may  be  it 
will  certainly  be  to  our  interest  to  follow 
His  instruction. 

Again,  His  knowing  does  not  exclude 

89 


90     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

the  possibility  of  our  asking  being  pleasing 
to  Him.  It  is  a  sure  mark  of  confidence 
in  Him. 

Again,  not  to  mention  the  reflex  benefit, 
for  we  are  now  thinking  of  the  direct  effi- 
cacy of  prayer,  to  say,  *'  Oh,  well,  no  use 
to  pray;  if  it's  best  to  be,  it  will  be,"  is 
utterly  incompatible  with  the  disposition 
that  would  appreciate  and  make  the  most 
of  the  favor  if  it  came.  Earnest  prayer  is 
not  only  the  most  appropriate  evidence 
that  the  sinner  feels  his  needs  but  the  most 
appropriate  evidence  of  his 
fitness  to  moral  fitness  to  receive  the 
receive  blessinff  that  otherwise  would 

evidenced  o 

by  earnest  be  bcst  for  him.  You  mav 
know  your  neighbor  is  in  want 
and  be  most  anxious  to  help  him,  and  yet 
he  may  in  his  present  state  of  mind  be  so 
indifferent  to  his  poverty  as  to  make  it 
quite  as  much  worth  your  while  to  throw 
your  help  away. 


Ill 

PRAYER  AND  THE  REIGN  OF  LAW 

-       J  ^ 

"  The  thing  that  is  done  upon  the  earth  He  doeth     ^}-vt'^ 

it  Hiviself." 

Another  diflSculty  presents  itself  thus: 
Are  not  all  things  controlled  by  law  ?  How, 
then,  can  God  interfere  to  bring  about  any 
change  for  my  sake  without  causing  con- 
fusion and  disaster?  How  can  God,  in 
order  to  answer  prayer,  interfere  with  the 
fixed  and  immutable  laws  that  reign  in  the 
universe  ? 

Thousands  of  earnest,  praying  Chris- 
tians are  troubled  at  this  point. 

Better  trust  God  and  pray  on  as  He  has 
told  you  to. 

But  think  for  a  moment.    What  do  you 
have  in  mind  when  you  think  or  speak  of 
law.?  \  WliaL-do^you  mean  by  law?    jTon 
mean,  do  you  not,  a  regularized  The  soiirce 
mode  of  action ;   you  mean  an  °*  ^*^- 
observed   order  of  sequence;  a  rule  by 

91 


92     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

which  the  same  effect  always  follows  the 
same  cause.  But  something  must  be  re- 
sponsible for  all  this  exact  regularity. 
What  is  it?  Is  it  some  self -sustained  in- 
visible force.?  If  so,  then  the  nature  of 
God  is  impugned  and  the  universe  is 
robbed  of  its  Deity. 

Think  but  a  little  further  and  this  will 
be  plain.  Either  the  self-sustained  force 
in  question  is  self -originating,  in  which 
case  there  is  no  Being  responsible  for  all 
the  universe  contains,  and  if  such  be  true, 
there  is  in  fact  no  Supreme  Being — no 
God  at  all ;  or,  such  force  having  originated 
with  God  has  been  voluntarily  surren- 
dered to  itself  and  the  creatures  of  this 
world  to  it,  which  in  the  last  analysis  re- 
solves God  into  a  heartless  monster  whose 
offspring  are  left  to  rail  with  embittered 
soul  against  the  inevitable  from  which 
there  is  no  hope  or  help;  or,  such  force,  if 
self-sustained,  originating  with  God,  has 
gotten  altogether  beyond  His  control, 
which  means  that  you  must  divest  God  of 
the  name  Almighty,  for  He  has  plainly  set 


Prayer  and  the  Reign  of  Law       93 

in  motion  machinery  that  He  cannot  man- 
age.     How  such  a  view  holds 
God  up  to  ridicule !    How  much  make  an  un- 
it   makes   Him   like  the  fabu-  °ianae«awe 

universe? 

lous  inventor  who  prepared  an 
automobile  which,  when  started,  would 
run  for  days  and  weeks;  but  he  neglected 
to  provide  any  way  of  stopping  it,  or  of 
regulating  its  speed.  He  mounted  it,  but 
found  he  could  not  control  it ;  he  got  hun- 
gry, thirsty  and  sleepy,  but  the  machine 
carried  him  on  until  he  perished. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  see  in  the  re- 
sponsible agent  back  of  all  the  workings 
of  nature  God  Himself,  then  what  are 
these  various  modes  of  action  which  are 
so  regular  and  so  immutable  and  which 
we  call  Law,  but  expressions  of  God's  own 
will?    Law  is  the  expression  of 
God  s  Will.    It  is  the  way  God  definition 
decides  that  force  shall  act  upon  °    *^* 
matter.    In  itself  it  has  no  existence;  it  is 
simply   our   name   for   expressing   God's 
mode  of  working.    It  is  the  way  God  does 
things.     The  only  thing  science  can  say 


94     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

is,  certain  effects  follow  certain  causes  be- 
cause they  do:  the  Christian  says  they  do 
because  God  'provides  for  their  so  doing. 
In  other  words,  "the  thing  that  is  done 
upon  earth  He  doeth  it  Himself." 
'  Since  this  is  true,  where  is  the  folly  of 
asking  God  to  control  the  forces  of  either 
the  natural  or  spiritual  world  for  the  bene- 
fit of  His  trusting,  praying  children?  "As 
if,"  says  Boyd  Vincent,  "  God  had  some- 
how created  the  world  like  a  great  clock, 
and  set  it  a-going,  and  were  now  afraid  to 
touch  it  lest,  like  some  meddlesome  boy. 
He  should  get  His  fingers  into  the  works 
and  stop  it." 

Surely  God  would  leave  room  for  the 
freedom  of  His  will  without  necessarily 
violating  the  order  He  established.  More 
than  this,  who  will  dare  say  that  God  can- 
not, if  He  choose f  without  disaster,  modify, 
suspend  or  even  change  what  we  call  a 
law.  But  to  answer  prayer  no  such  heroic 
measures  are  necessary.  Every  result 
which  even  man  produces  is  brought  about 
by  the  combination  and  adjustment  of 


Prayer  and  the  Reign  of  Law        95 

forces  existent  about  him.  Science  has 
proven  beyond  a  shadow  of  doubt  that 
every  force  in  the  world  is  wholly  inoper- 
ative unless  certain  conditions  ^  ^    „,, 

God  utlliz- 

are  fulfilled  and  that  when  mg  ws  own 
these  conditions  are  fulfilled  answer 
that  force  begins  to  work  its  p"^"* 
wonders.  Shall  the  creature  be  privileged 
thus  to  utilize  the  forces  which  he  found 
here  at  his  coming  and  the  like  prerogative 
be  denied  the  Creator  who  brought  them 
into  existence.^  Has  man  any  good  reason 
for  believing  that  his  will  is  more  closely 
linked  with  these  things  than  is  the  will  of 
God.? 

For  instance,  if  man  had  but  the  means, 
he  could  make  it  rain  whenever  he  wanted 
to.  Rain  is  condensed  vapor  falling  in 
drops  to  the  earth.  It  is  produced  by 
known  physical  agencies,  the  more  appar- 
ent of  which  are  heat  and  air  currents. 
Now,  if  man  could  generate  sufficient  heat 
to  alter  the  atmospheric  currents  what 
would  hinder  him  from  bringing  rain  to 
the  earth  at  his  will?    And   in    case  he 


96     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

fired  some  vast  plain  or  mighty  city  to 
effect  his  purpose,  could  we  say  that  in 
Eain  in  producing  rain  he  had  violated 
answer  to  naturc's  established  laws?  No, 
he  had  simply  used  them. 
Shall  we  now  admit  that  man  can  make  it 
rain  and  God  cannot?  By  no  means, 
but  when  God,  in  answer  to  prayer,  wills 
that  it  shall  rain  He  simply  provides  that 
the  natural  forces  over  which  He  has 
control  and  which  are  productive  of 
such  result  be  brought  into  operation. 

We  children  of  lesser  ability  look  upon 
some  great  modern  scientific  thinker  and 
wonder  at  his  prodigious  learning,  but  he 
must  look  very  small  in  the  eyes  of  God, 
though  he  does  not  seem  to  know  it,  when 
he  ventures  the  gratuitous  assertion  that 
God  can  not  at  His  pleasure  manipulate 
or  control  the  laws  He  has  brought  into 
existence.  As,  for  instance,  when  Tyn- 
dall  says  it  would  be  as  unreasonable  for 
a  shower  to  come  from  heaven  in  response 
to  a  human  prayer  as  for  the  St.  Lawrence 
river  to  roll  up  the  falls  of  Niagara;  when. 


Prayer  and  the  Reign  oj  Law       97 

in  fact,  the   one   is   no   more   unreason- 
able than  the  other.     What  would  be  re- 
quired to  roll  the  St.  Lawrence  Tyndaii's 
up    Niagara   Falls .?     Simply  a  denance 

t^  ^  ^  '^  of  God. 

force  stronger  than  that  of 
gravitation  and  the  thing  is  accomjjlished, 
and  that  without  the  violation  or  even  the 
suspension  of  any  of  nature's  laws.  Pope 
in  his  *' Essay  on  Man"  voices  the  skepti- 
cism with  which  we  are  dealing,  in  these 
lines : 
"  Think  we,  like  some  weak  prince,  th'  Eternal 

Cause 
Prone  for  His  fav'rites  to  reverse  His  laws? 

When  the  loose  mountain  trembles  from  on  high, 
Shall  gravitation  cease  if  you  go  by?" 

The  only  sensible  answer  is,  Yes,  if 
God  so  choose. 

That  God  would  do  a  thing  like  that  is 
not  likely,  but  it  is  perfectly  absurd  to  say 
that  He  cannot.  Man's  arm  is  not  so 
strong  as  God's,  else  he  could  put  out  his 
hand  and  hold  the  mountain  back  him- 
self.    In  smaller  matters  he  is  doing  it 


98     How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

every  day.  By  an  impulse  of  your  will 
you  order  your  hand  lifted  up  and  it  goes 
right  against  the  same  force  of  gravity  that 
is  pulling  the  mountain  down.  By  lifting 
The  forces      your     hand    you     temporarily 

of  nature  ■         ■.!       i?  p  •. 

at  man's  Overmaster  the  lorce  oi  gravity, 
disposition.  Every  boy  who  catches  a  de- 
scending ball  and  every  child  who  throws 
a  dam  across  a  laughing  rivulet  does  the 
same.  When  the  engineer  reverses  his 
engine  and  stops  the  onrushing  train  he 
has  neither  annulled  nor  violated  any  law ; 
he  simply  overbalanced  one  mighty  force 
by  calling  into  play  another.  No  violence 
has  been  done  to  the  reign  of  law  in  any 
case.  Everywhere  in  nature  this  overpow- 
ering of  one  force  by  another  is  going  on. 
Kinsley,  in  his  little  work  on  "  Science 
and  Prayer,"  takes  for  illustration  a  tum- 
bler of  water.  Says  he,  *'  If  it  were  not  for 
„.    ,    ,         the  cohesive  attraction  between 

Kinsley's 

tumbler         the  particlcs  of  the  fflass  being 

of  water.  ^  °       .  ° 

stronger  than  the  gravity,  the 
sides  would  crumble  into  dust  and  sink 
with   the  water  to  the  lowest  attainable 


Prayer  and  the  Reign  of  Law       99 

level.  Gravity  lias  not  been  destroyed, 
but  simply  mastered  by  a  stronger  antag- 
onist. Remove  a  part  of  the  heat  from  the 
water  and  it  will  become  a  crystallized 
solid,  showing  that  until  now  the  heat 
force  had  been  holding  the  crystalline  in 
check.  Lower  still  further  the  tempera- 
ture and  the  sides  of  the  tumbler  will  burst 
into  pieces,  the  crystalline  force  overcom- 
ing the  cohesive.  Raise  the  temperature 
and  the  water  will  change  to  steam  and  a 
repellance  between  the  particles  will  ap- 
pear, the  heat  driving  them  asunder,  de- 
spite all  that  cohesion  and  gravitation 
can  do." 

If  man  by  an  effort  of  his  will  can  thus 
exercise  such  power  over  the  forces  of 
nature,  assuredly  we  cannot  be  unwilling 
to  concede  that  God  can  do  likewise.  How 
did  you  lift  your  hand.^  Virtually  by  put- 
ting your  will  under  it.  Likewise  the  boy 
overcame  the  force  of  gravity  by  putting 
his  will  under  the  ball,  and  the  little  child 
by  putting  its  will  against  the  streamlet. 
And  so  could  God  if  He  choose  put  His 


100  How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

will  under  the  toppling  mountain,  as  He 
did  put  His  will  under  the  floating  axe  in 
the  days  of  Elisha,  and  in  precisely  the 
same  way  could  God  by  a  direct  effort  of 
His  will  deliver  any  one  who  prays  to  Him 
Natural  law  ^^^^m  the  Operation  of  any  of 
and  the  will  His  natural  laws.  Just  how 
God  could  so  dispose  His  will 
is  the  real  mystery  after  all,  but  who  has 
ever  discovered  just  how  he  gets  his  own 
will  under  his  hand  or  just  how  a  boy 
gets  his  beneath  a  ball?  In  short,  the 
last  is  quite  as  mysterious  as  the  first. 
God  often  works  indirectly  through  hu- 
man agencies  or  natural  forces  whose 
operation  is  visible  to  us,  but  that  He 
should  work  directly  or  invisibly  does  not 
alter  the  principle  involved. 

Tyndall,  who  has  so  laboriously  op- 
posed the  Christian  faith  in  this  respect, 
admitted  that  prayer  might  avail  for  spir- 
itual aid,  but  said  that  no  good  could  come 
"  of  giving  it  a  delusive  value  by  claiming 
for  it  a  power  in  physical  nature."  Dr. 
Patton  has  aptly  remarked  that,  *'  A  meta- 


Prayer  and  the  Reign  oj  Law      101 

physical  philosopher  might  indeed  exactly 
reverse  the  statement,  with  much  greater 
plausibility.  He  might  affirm  that,  know- 
ins:    from   constant   experience 

^  .  Dr.  Pattou's 

the  power  of  free  will  over  the  reply  to 
laws  of  matter,  and  the  ease  ^"  * 
w^ith  which  it  can  overrule,  or  combine, 
or  counterbalance  them,  to  work  out  its 
own  results,  he  was  ready  to  concede 
that  prayer  might  lead  God  to  produce 
physical  effects ;  but  that  the  real  difficulty 
lay  in  understanding  how  God  could  an- 
swer prayer  by  producing  mental  and 
moral  changes,  where  He  would  have  to 
deal  not  with  dead  matter  but  with  living 
spirits;  not  with  necessitated  forces  but 
with  freedom  itself." 

In  the  presence  of  skeptical  assaults  on 
prayer,  or  the  honest  perplexity  of  one's 
own  mind,  it  may  be  gratifying  to  recall 
the  life  and  the  attitude  of  some  of  the 
world's  masters  in  matters  of  science. 
Let  one  example  here  be  enough — Agas- 
siz,  a  man  who  studied  nature  as  few  have 
ever  done.    His  was  no  common  intellect, 


102   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

and  yet  he  prayed.  He  knew  the  laws  of 
matter  as  few  have  ever  known  them 
A  ^oo*»,       since,  but  he  knew  that  mind 

A  master 

scientist  -yvas  back  of  them  all.  He  saw 
the  unchangeable  precision  with 
which  they  ruled  about  him,  but  yet 
he  prayed  for  he  knew  they  were  expres- 
sions of  some  master  will.  He  is  gathered 
with  his  pupils  on  an  island  shore;  they 
have  come  for  study  and  investigation. 
Listen  as  he  speaks  to  them  and  then 
watch  him  as  he  bows  his  mighty  mind 
in  the  presence  of  nature  and  the  God 
from  whence  all  nature  came.  Whittier 
has  described  the  scene: 

*'  Said  the  master  to  the  youth : 
'  We  have  come  in  search  of  truth. 

Trying  with  uncertain  key 

Door  by  door  of  mystery ; 
We  are  searching  through  His  laws. 
To  the  garment-hem  of  cause, 

Him,  the  endless,  unbegun. 

The  Unnameable,  the  One, 
Light  of  all  our  light  the  source 
Life  of  life  and  Force  of  force. 


Prayer  and  the  Reig7i  of  Law      103 

By  past  efforts  unavailing 
Doubt  and  error,  loss  and  failing, 

Of  our  weakness  made  aware, 
On  the  threshold  of  our  task 
Let  us  light  and  guidance  ask. 

Let  us  pause  in  silent  prayer !' 

"Then  the  master  in  his  place, 
Bowed  his  head  a  little  space. 
And  the  leaves,  by  soft  air  stirred. 
Lapse  of  wave  and  cry  of  bird. 
Left  the  solemn  hush  unbroken 
Of  that  wordless  prayer  unspoken, 
While  its  wish,  on  earth  unsaid. 
Rose  to  heaven  interpreted." 

No,  child  of  the  kingdom,  the  reign  of 
law  does  not  make  it  impossible  for  God 
to  answer  your  prayer.  *'  It  dissolves  into 
thin  air,  as  we  look  at  it,  this  fancied  bar- 
rier of  inexorable  law;  and  as  the  mists 
clear  off,  beyond  there  is  the  throne  of  the 
Moral  King  of  the  universe,  in  whose  eyes 
material  symmetry  is  as  nothing  when 
compared  with  the  spiritual  well-being  of 
His  moral  creatures"  (Liddon). 


IV 

PRAYER  AND  PREDESTINATION 

"Known  unto  Him  are  all  His  works  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world." — Acts  15: 18. 

There  Is  still  another  difficulty.  Are 
not  all  things  that  are  going  to  occur  pre- 
determined in  the  mind  of  God?  And  if 
everything  has  been  eternally  foreknown 
and  predestinated,  does  not  any  later  ar- 
rangement of  events  because  of  prayer,  or 
for  any  other  reason,  involve  God  in  a 
hopeless  contradiction  and  reflect  there- 
fore upon  His  perfect  character?  How, 
then,  can  prayer  have  any  influence  with 
God  in  bringing  to  pass  the  things  that 
are  to  take  place? 

This  is,  we  admit,  after  all  a  serious  per- 
plexity. It  is,  in  fact,  the  only  serious 
The  most  perplexity,  and  it  is  at  this  point 
serious  the    subjcct  passcs  more  fully 

beyond  the  grasp  of  finite 
reason  than  at  any  other.     It  practically 

104 


Prayer  and  Predestination        105 

brings  up  the  old  bone  of  contention  be- 
tween the  advocates  of  God's  sovereignty 
on  the  one  hand  and  those  of  man's  free 
will  on  the  other. 

Once  more  our  advice  would  be,  Trust 
God  and  pray  on  as  He  has  told  you  to 
do.  If  God  has  told  us  that  He  will  an- 
swer our  prayers,  He  w411  take  care  of  His 
sovereignty.  Anyhow,  after  we  have  done 
all  our  reading  and  all  our  thinking  upon 
this  enigma  we  will  be  left  pretty  much 
where  we  are  now,  namely,  looking  along 
two  seemingly  parallel  lines  of  thought, 
both  of  which  seem  to  be  true  and  yet 
apparently  contradictory,  but  which,  after 
all,  must  meet  at  some  point  in  God's  own 
plan  of  perfect  wisdom  far  beyond  the 
vision  of  any  finite  intelligence. 

There  are  three  explanations  in  each  of 
which  millions  of  Christians  have  found 
encouragement  to  pray. 

Each   of   these   explanations  ^^^  ^^^^ 
teach  that  prayer  and  predes-  expiana- 

^    ^      .  ,  ,         tions. 

tmation  are  bcriptural  truths. 

They  might  be  distinguished  as  Ab- 


106   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

solute  Predestination,  Conditional  Pre- 
destination, and  Limited  Predestina- 
tion. 

The  first  explanation  declares  that 
everything  which  comes  to  pass  is  first 
predetermined  in  the  mind  of  God.  It 
declares  that  God's  predestination  pre- 
cedes His  foreknowledge  as  the  ground  of 
certainty  for  human  action.  God  only 
foreknows  that  which  He  has  predeter- 
mined to  take  place. 

The  second  explanation,  while  admit- 
ting that  God  absolutely  predetermines 
some  things,  contends  that  such  things  as 
respect  the  government  of  his  free  moral 
agents  are  only  conditionally  predeter- 
mined. God  purposes  to  do  under  cer- 
tain conditions,  which  depend  upon  the 
free  agency  of  man,  what  He  would  not 
do  under  other  conditions.  This  explana- 
tion further  declares  that  God's  fore- 
knowledge precedes  His  predestination. 
God  only  predetermines  that  which  He 
foreknows  will  take  place  and  the  fore- 
knowledge of  human  action  has  no  influ- 


Prayer  and  Predestination        107 

ence  upon  its  taking  place;  it  does  not 
necessitate  the  action. 

The  third  explanation  denies  that  God's 
foreknowledge  is  necessarily  all-compre- 
hending. 

We  will  think  for  a  while  about  these 
explanations. 

1.  Suppose  we  accept  the  first  one.  We 
remark  in  passing  that  if  the  foreordina- 
tion  of  events  be  a  sufficient  reason  for 
not  praying,  it  is  an  equally 
sufficient  reason  for  not  doing  ticmSai*'to 
anythinsj  else.     As  well  might  f"  activity, 

•/  o  ^  ^  o         it  to  prayer. 

one  say,  '*  If  it  be  ordained  that 
I  shall  live,  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to 
eat,"  as  to  say,  *'If  it  be  ordained  that  I 
shall  obtain  any  good,  it  is  not  necessary 
for  me  to  pray  for  it."  But  it  is  very  evi- 
dent that  such  reasoning  is  a  swift  and 
sure  road  to  the  starkest  fatalism.  If  fore- 
ordination  be  a  valid  objection  against 
praying,  it  is  also  a  valid  objection 
against  every  other  form  of  human 
activity. 

Still  the  question  confronts  us,  What 


108    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

use  to  pray  if  God  has  eternally  settled  all 
things  ? 

In  answer  to  this  we  propose  another 
question.  If  God  encourages  us  to  pray, 
does  it  not  seem  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  somehow  in  His  eternal  planning  He 
made  allowance  for  it?  And 
Allowance      closc  ou  the  hccls  of  this  ques- 

made  for  .  ,  __^,  .„ 

prayer  in       tiou  comcs  another.      What  II 

the  plan  /^     j    i?  j     •        j  „ 

of  God.  God  loreordamed  our  prayers 

and  embraced  them  within  His 
plan  as  predestinated  factors  toward  the 
accomplishment  of  His  purposes  in  the 
world.?  What  if  God  so  arranged  the  suc- 
cession of  events  as  to  give  due  place  and 
influence  to  prayer  in  bringing  them 
about .'^  In  other  words,  what  if  God  fore- 
ordained the  means  as  well  as  the  end.? 
To  illustrate:  Suppose  that  God  fore- 
ordained that  a  certain  temporal  blessing 
should  be  yours  as  a  result  of  some  prayer, 
which  prayer  He  also  foreordained  as  the 
influence  with  Him  in  securing  the  bless- 
ing.? The  former,  I  am  aware,  you  might 
call  a  provisional  predestination,  but  since 


Prayer  and  Predestination        109 

it  depends  upon  predestinated  means  it  is, 
after  all,  as  absolutely  certain  as  it  other- 
wise could  be. 

The  perplexity  is  a  stubborn  one.  One 
can  easily  wish  for  still  clearer  light;  yet 
the  foregoing  explanation  is  that  given  by 
scores  of  the  closest  thinkers  in  every  por- 
tion of  the  church,  and  so  general  has 
been  the  satisfaction  it  has  given  that  by 
many  it  is  considered  as  the  accepted 
creed  of  Christendom.  And  if  such  ex- 
planation be  accepted,  then  so  far  from 
God's  unchangeableness  being 
an  objection  to  prayer,  it  be-  fha^ngeawe- 
comes  the  sure  ground  of  our  "®^^  *^®  ^"" 

c5  ground  of 

confidence  in  prayer;  fot  so  far  successful 

p  .       ,      .  ,  petition. 

irom  it  being  necessary  that 
God  should  change  His  will  in  order  to 
answer  prayer,  it  becomes  absolutely  nec- 
essary that  His  will  should  not  be  changed. 
Fail  to  answer  He  cannot  without  a  re- 
versal of  His  decree  and  a  contradiction 
of  His  own  perfect  nature. 

2.  Suppose  we  accept  the  second  ex- 
planation.    Now  if  some  events  are  pre- 


110   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

destinated  only  upon  certain  conditions, 
which  you  or  I  as  free  moral  agents  may 
or  may  not  fulfill,  and  if  prayer  be  made 
in  Scripture  to  be  one  of  these  conditions, 
then  the  influence  which  prayer  has  with 
God  is  plainly  manifest. 

But  you  ask,  "  If  God  foreknows  every- 
thing, as  this  theory  also  admits,  does  He 
not  then  also  foreknow  that  the  particular 
prayer  in  question  will  be  made,  and  if  so, 
is  not  both  the  prayer  and  the  supposed 
consequent  event  made  certain  from  all 
eternity?  Wherein,  then,  does  this  ex- 
planation differ  from  the  other?"  In  this 
reply  the  exponents  of  this  explanation, 
that  while  the  predetermination  of  an 
event  necessitates  its  occurrence,  God  only 

«  ^.  ,  predetermines    what   He   fore- 

cod's  fore-      L 

knowledge  kuows  is  goiug  to  occur  and 
his  prede-      the  forcknowlcdgc  of  an  occur- 

termlnation.  i  .  'l    t.       't. 

rence  does  not  necessitate  it, 
for  the  plain  reason  that  it  is  mere  knowl- 
edge and  not  influence,  and  so  has  no 
effect  upon  the  freedom  or  certainty  of  the 
action. 


Prayer  and  Predestination        111 

This  theory  is  best  set  forth  in  "Whe- 
don  on  the  Will"  (Part  II,  Sec.  3,  Chap. 
11).  He  shows  us  how  that  God's  fore- 
knowledge is  not  so  much  "a  foreknowl- 
edge of  a  peculiar  kind  of  event,  as  a 
knowledge  in  Him  of  a  peculiar  quality 
existent  in  the  free  agent."  God  *'under- 
standeth  the  thoughts  of  man  afar  off." 
He  so  understands  the  temperament  and 
disposition  of  every  one  of  His  creatures 
as  to  be  altogether  sure  of  how  each  of 
them  will  act  under  any  given  circum- 
stances; and  when  we  are  told  that  God's 
foreknowledge  must  be  to  some  degree 
uncertain  unless  He  has  Himself  prede- 
termined the  action  in  question,  the  advo- 
cates of  this  second  explanation  are  at 
once  by  our  side  to  say,  "not  unless  any 
person  can  prove  that  the  Divine  pre- 
science is  unable  to  dart  through  all  the 
workings  of  the  human  mind,  all  its  com- 
parison of  things  in  the  judgment,  all  the 
influences  of  motives  on  the  affections,  all 
the  hesitancies  and  baitings  of  the  will,  to 
its  final  choice." 


112   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

This  is  the  explanation  which  has  ap- 
pealed to  multitudes  of  the  world's  best 
thinkers.  Some  of  us  are  doubtless  not 
yet  altogether  satisfied.  Truth  seems  to 
lie  on  either  side.  But  you  can  pray  intel- 
ligently and  with  assurance  on 
reconcile  °  ^^^  basis  of  either  explanation, 
predestina-     ^y^  niust  uot  forffct,  howcver, 

tion  with  ^       ^  o      '  ' 

the  sovereign  that  this  is  an  attempt  of  the 

will  of  man.     „     .  ,        .     ^     .  , 

nnite  to  grasp  the  mnnite,  and 
we  have  no  way  of  understanding  Him 
"whose  ways  are  past  finding  out,"  except 
through  our  own  imperfect  notions  of  those 
attributes  and  capacities  which  would  seem 
to  be  niecessary  in  us  to  accomplish  what 
we  ascribe  unto  God.  But  even  though 
we  may  not  with  our  limited  and  imper- 
fect notions  be  able  to  reconcile  God's  ab- 
solute predestination  or  certain  fore- 
knowledge with  the  sovereign  will  of  man, 
we  ought  not  therefore  to  lose  faith  in  our 
Thomas  God  or  in  His  promises,  for  as 
Watson  the  writer  just  quoted  (Thomas 

Watson)  has  said,  '*  If  God  has 
established  it    as    one   of   the   principles 


Prayer  and  Predestination        113 

of  His  moral  government  to  accept 
prayer,  in  every  case  in  which  He  has 
given  us  authority  to  ask,  He  has  not,  we 
may  be  assured,  entangled  His  actual 
government  of  the  world  with  the  bonds 
of  such  an  eternal  predestination  of  par- 
ticular events  as  either  to  reduce  prayer  to 
a  mere  form  of  words,  or  not  to  be  able 
Himself,  consistently  with  his  decrees,  to 
answer  it,  whenever  it  is  encouraged  by 
his  express  engagements." 

3.  Suppose  we  accept  the  third  explana- 
tion: the  explanation  which  affirms  that 
God's  foreknowledge  and  foreordination 
are  not  necessarily  all-comprehending. 

You  shrink  from  an  attitude  of  thought 
like  that  toward  the  Supreme  Being.     It 
appears,  does  it  not,  to  reflect  discredit 
upon  His  perfection.?     Yet,  let  ^^^^  ^^^ 
us  not  be  too  hasty  in  our  judg-  foreknow 
ment.    Many  earnest  and  noted 
scholars  defend  the  position  and  strenu- 
ously maintain  that  not  only  does  it  not 
dishonor   God,   but   that   it   is   the   only 
scheme  of  thought  which  does  not  divest 


-^ 


114   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

Him   of   the   essential   attributes   of  His 
divinity. 

The  position  is  quite  clearly  set  forth  in 
W.  W.  Kinsley's  "  Science  and  Prayer," 
one  of  the  required  books  for  the  Chau- 
tauqua Literary  and  Scientific  Circle. 
This  explanation,  if  it  may  be  maintained 
consistently  with  the  perfection  of  God's 
character,  relieves  us,  of  course,  of  the 
difiiculty  in  question. 

It  is  contended  by  the  advocates  of  this 
explanation,  that  when  God  created  us  in 
His  own  image  and  made  us  equally  with 
Himself  of  sovereign  will  (and  we  know 
we  are  free  to  choose  as  we  will)  by  His 
very  so  doing  He  surrendered  at  least  par- 
tially His  control  over  us  and  of  necessity 
limited  thereby  His  foreknowledge  con- 
cerning us.  Plainly  it  is  the  old  time-worn 
controversy  between  two  great  schools  of 
theology;  between  God's  sov- 
fontrovcKy.  erciguty  on  one  side  (involving 
as  it  does  His  absolute  fore- 
knowledge and  predestination)  and  man's 
free  will  on  the  other,  and  between  the 


Prayer  and  Predestination         115 

horns  of  such  a  dilemma  the  only  thing  to 
do  is  to  confess  a  wise  ignorance  and  hang 
on  to  both. 

A  controversion  of  God's  perfect  fore- 
knowledge does  not  set  well  with  most  of 
us,  regardless  of  our  denominational  bias. 
The  fear,  however,  of  any  belittling  con- 
ception of  God  its  advocates  would  over- 
come by  showing  what  the  theory  of  such 
foreknowledge  really  involves,  leaving  us 
to  decide  which  is  the  greater  injustice,  if 
any,  to  the  all-perfect  character  of  God. 

The  following  from  the  work  above 
quoted  on  "  Science  and  Prayer"  will  help 
us  to  an  appreciation,  if  so  be  such  is  pos- 
sible, of  the  position  assumed  by  the  ad- 
vocates of  the  limited  knowledge  theory. 
The  author  says : "  No  petitioner  can  plead 
with  any  genuine  unction  unless  he  be- 
lieves that  he  can  actually  effect  some 
change  in  the  purposes  existing  in  the 
divine  mind  at  the  time  his  prayer  is 
offered.  ...  If  God  foreknows  every- 
thing that  will  ever  come  to  pass,  all  His 
own  mental  states  must  necessarily  be  in- 


116   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

eluded  in  that  foreknowledge.  A  mo- 
ment's reflection  will  convince  us  that 
Does  God       othcrwisc  there  is  not  a  single 

foreknow  his  ■     •     i        •  •  i  r      ■ 

own  mental  present  mtcutiou  or  plan  but 
states?  what  is  exposed  to  the  possi- 

bility of  modification.  If  a  single  thought 
or  emotion  is  ever  going  to  spring  up  in 
God's  mind  unanticipated,  God  Himself 
must  be  as  ignorant  as  we  as  to  what  part 
of  His  vast  plan  it  will  pertain.  And  so, 
if  we  would  logically  defend  a  belief  in 
the  all-comprehensiveness  of  God's  fore- 
knowledge, we  must  aflfirm  that  not  a 
single  new  idea  can  arise  in  His  mind — 
not  a  single  new  emotion  be  felt — and  that 
if  He  is  thus  limited  now  He  must  have 
been  equally  so  at  every  moment  in  all  the 
eternal  past,  and  must  be  through  all  the 
years  to  come;  for  if  there  ever  has  been, 
or  ever  will  be,  a  moment  when  a  new 
thought  caij.  thus  come,  then  during  all  the 
time  preceding  that  moment  the  fore- 
knowledge was  incomplete.  Where  does 
this  lead.''  In  what  sort  of  an  intellectual 
or  emotional  condition  does  this  irrefraga- 


Prayer  and  Predestination         117 

ble  logic  compel  us  to  assert  God  to  be 
continually?  Unquestionably  that  of  per- 
fect stagnation.  No  thought  processes  can 
be  carried  on  under  such  condi- 
tions— no  succession  of  ideas,  conclusions 
no  change  of  mental  state;  but  j^e^J^JlJ 
God  must  have  been  and  must 
still  be  imprisoned  in  a  hopelessly  dead 
calm.  .  .  .  When,  then,  did  He  form  His 
plans  for  creation.?  Under  this  supposi- 
tion there  never  could  have  been  a  time 
when  He  began  to  think  about  them.  .  .  . 
If  God  has  had  no  thought  succession,  He 
can  have  had  no  feeling;  His  emotional 
state  having  ever  necessarily  been  that  of 
unbroken  placidity — of  absolute  apathy. 
His  heart  throbless  as  a  stone.  He  could 
experience  no  change  of  feeling,  for  that 
would  involve  thought-succession.  From 
all  the  sources  of  joy  or  sorrow  of  which 
we  can  conceive  He  would  be  utterly  de- 
barred —  from  pleasurable  or  painful 
memories,  from  hopes  and  forebodings, 
from  social  sympathies,  from  emotions 
that  accompany  changes,  contrasts,  sur- 


118   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

prises,  from  the  glow  of  activity,  even 
from  the  delights  and  griefs  of  contempla- 
tion; for  they  all  involve  thought-move- 
ment. Therefore,  under  this  supposition 
God  can  have  no  emotional  activity,  for 
He  would  have  no  thought-activity  for  its 
background.  Thoughts  must,  of  course, 
come  and  go,  or  the  heart  lies  dead." 
■*3uch,"  he  says,  *'are  the  absurdities  in 
which  we  become  hopelessly  entangled  the 
moment  we  attempt  to  defend  the  doc- 
trine of  God's  perfect  foreknowledge." 

No  Christian  scholar  would  for  one  sec- 
ond espouse  or  teach  a  doctrine  of  which 

toyait  to  ^^  ^^^  ^^  least  suspicion  that 
the  character  it  is  in  auv  scusc  dcroffatorv  to 

of   God.  ^      J  T^  M  -^  -^     '        • 

God.  l^or  the  writer  it  is  im- 
possible to  conceive  of  God's  all-compre- 
hending foreknowledge  and  absolute  pre- 
destination without  including  His  mental 
states,  for  blindly  and  irrationally  He 
certainly  does  not  act,  and  because  this  is 
true,  the  conclusions  of  the  above  author, 
some  seem  to  think,  are  well  nigh  irre- 
sistible. 


Prayer  and  Predestination        119 

Again,  some  things  are  to  be  apprecia- 
ted and  not  defined.  For  instance,  such  a 
thing  is  Power.  Who  can  tell  you  what 
power  is,  though  definition  be  piled  up 
mountain  high.^  Power  is  to  be  appreci- 
ated and  the  simplest  child  can  do  it.  On 
the  other  hand,  some  things  are  to  be  de- 
fined and  not  appreciated.  Such 

^,  .  .  1      ,  •       ,  •  1      Things  hard 

a  tnmg  is  predestination ;  such  and  easy 
is  omniscience.    These    things  *°  '^«^'^®- 
are    easy     to    define;     the    very    words 
speak   out   their  own  meaning,  but  who 
can  appreciate   them.?   Who   can   under- 
stand   how     God     can    be    everywhere 
at  once.?    or  that  His   mind   can  reach 
at  the  same   time  every  speck  of   mat- 
ter in  the  vast  universe,  absolutely  deter- 
mining the  motion  of  every  dust  particle, 
the   juxtaposition   of   every   infinitesimal 
molecule   and   its   relative   position   with 
every  other  atom  in  the  world,  the  exact 
time,  direction  and  rapidity  of  ^^^  ^^ 
action  of  the  world's  every  mote  «*  predesti- 
of    moving    protoplasm.?     Yet 
to  just  such  an  extreme  and  even  farther 


120    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

does  predestination  take  us  when  followed 
absolutely  to  the  conclusion  towards  which 
it  points. 

That  such  must  necessarily  be  predi- 
cated of  a  Being  before  He  can  be  worthily 
thought  of  as  God  we  have  sometimes 
found  ourselves  wondering.  Could  He 
not  quite  as  well  have  committed  these 
things  to  the  care  of  chemical  and  vital 
forces  the  invariable  operation  of  which 
He  has  secured  by  laws  which  are  under 
His  control.?  Now  if,  while  God  prear- 
ranged such  forces  as  well  as  the  forces 
that  give  us  the  sustained  harmony  of  the 
universe  and  surround  us  with  such  provi- 
The  action  ^ences  as  meet  our  probable 
of  the  wants,  He  could  leave  the  ac- 

will  in  tion  oi  the  human  will  m  uncer- 

uncertainty.  |.^jj^^y   ^yy   delegating   to    man 

through  all  the  coming  ages  the  power  of 
free  and  unhindered  choice,  and  at  the 
same  time  leave  nature  with  her  govern- 
ing laws  in  such  responsive  condition  that, 
having  all  matter  and  all  force  obedient  to 
His  bidding,  He  can,  in  response  to  the 


Prayer  and  Predestination        121 

petition  of  His  confiding  child,  alter  what 
without  such  petition  would  have  been 
otherwise;  we  have  found  ourselves  won- 
dering if  such  a  view  is  not,  in  comparison 
with  that  of  absolute  predestination,  equally 
honoring  to  God  and  quite  as  stimulating 
to  man.  To  many  it  seems  far  more  so. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  know  which  of  the 
three  views  are  seen  to  be  right  from  the 
eternal  sighting  place.  Some  time  we  will 
know  what  now  we  do  not  or  „,,^ 

Either  ex- 

cannot  know.  But  if  any  child  pianation  an 
of  His,  who  is  troubled  with  the  ment  to 
question  we  have  been  consid-  ^^^^' 
ering  should  read  these  pages,  there  is  one 
thing  we  hope  he  will  not  fail  to  see,  that 
whether  he  prefer  the  one  or  the  other  of 
the  explanations  which  divide  the  Chris- 
tian thought  of  the  world,  they  are  all 
of  them  encouragements  to  prayer,  and 
one  can  pray  trustingly  and  confidingly, 
whether  he  think  one  way  or  the  other. 

We  may  be  sure  that  if  God  has  told  us 
to  pray  and  that  He  would  answer,  that 
He  will  make  arrangements  for  that  an- 


122   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

swer,  whatever  be  the  difficulties  that 
appear  to  our  little  minds  to  stand  in  His 
way.  Let  us  be  grateful  that  it  is  so,  and 
let  us  honor  Him  with  a  large  faith  as  we 
take  hold  of  His  exceeding  great  and 
precious  promise  to  hear  us  and  answer 
when  we  pray. 


^otD  to  $rap 


PRAYER  AND  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT 

"J  vnll  pour  upon  the  house  of  David  the  Spirit  of 
grace  and  of  supplication." — Zech.  12: 10. 

"Because  ye  are  sons,  God  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of 
His  Son  into  your  hearts,  crying,  Abba,  Father." — 
Gal.  4:  6. 

"For  through  Him  we  both  have  access  by  one 
Spirit  unto  the  Father." — Eph.  2: 18. 

"  The  Spirit  also  helpeth  our  infirmity  for  we 
know  not  what  we  should  pray  for  as  we  ought;  but 
the  Spirit  Himself  maketh  intercession  for  us  with 
groanings  that  cannot  be  uttered,  and  He  that  search- 
eth  the  hearts  knoweth  what  is  the  mind  of  the  Spirit, 
because  He  maketh  intercession  for  the  saints  accord- 
ing to  the  will  of  God." — Rom.  8:  26,  27. 

"With  all  prayer  and  supplication  praying  at  all 
seasons  in  the  Spirit." — Eph.  6: 18. 

"Praying  in  the  Holy  Spirit." — Jude  20. 

No  one  can  read  the  above  passages 
without  seeing  at  once  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
bears  a  very  intimate  relation  to  the 
prayers  of  a  Christian.  All  spiritual  ex- 
perience finds  its  source  in  the  indwelling 

125 


126    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

Spirit  of  God,  and  as  prayer  plays  so 
important    a    part    in    such    experience, 

An  im  or-        ^^    ^^^^    J^^*    Stated     OUght    tO 

tant  factor     occasion  no  surprise.     It  is  An- 

in  prayer.  ,  _  _  ^  ^  cirr(\ 

drew  Murray  who  says,  Ihe 
mystery  of  prayer  is  the  mystery  of  the  di- 
vine indwelHng,"  and  John  Owen,  who  has 
remarked  "that  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
the  assistance  which  the  Holy  Spirit  gives 
in  our  prayers  and  supplications  is  more 
frequently  and  expressly  asserted  in  the 
Scripture  than  any  other  operation  of  His 
whatsoever,"  and  many  a  one  has  con- 
fessed his  agreeable  surprise  in  discover- 
ing, on  going  through  the  Word,  how 
much  real  prayer  is  one  of  "  the  things  of 
the  Spirit,"  and  has  lent  glad  testimony 
that  prayer  becomes  immeasurably  sweet- 
er, an  altogether  new  experience,  when 
the  soul  is  properly  under  His  control  in 
this  most  holy  exercise.    Let  us  therefore 

endeavor  to  see  something  of 

The  subject     .i         ^    •    -4.'  l 

not  without  the  Spirit  s  place  in  prayer, 
mystery.  Everything  may  not  be  alto- 
gether clear  to  our  limited  vision,  but  if 


Prayer  and  the  Holy  Spirit       127 

our  study  help  us  to  appreciate  Him  a  little 
more,  it  will  be  time  well  spent.  Just  how 
"the  Spirit  helpeth  our  infirmity" ;  just  the 
way  in  which  He  "  intercedes  for  us  with 
groanings  that  cannot  be  uttered,"  we  may 
not  know ;  but  to  know  that  He  does ;  what 
an  encouragement  to  **  come  boldly  to  the 
throne  of  grace."  Our  'Spraying  in  the 
Holy  Spirit"  may  not  be  without  its  mys- 
tery, but  that  we  may  so  pray,  and  so  pray 
acceptably;  what  an  encouragement  to 
take  our  place  in  the  school  of  prayer  that 
the  Spirit  Himself  may  teach  us  how  to 
pray. 

If  you  will  turn  first  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment you  will  find  that  one  of  the  distinct 
purposes   of  the  Holy   Spirit's  ^^^  ^^^ 
coming  was  that  He  might  have  Testament 
a  part  in  the  prayer  life  of  God's 
children.    The  passage  is  Zechariah  2 :  10, 
**I  will  pour  upon  the  house  of  David  and 
upon  thj   inhabitants   of  Jerusalem  the 
Spirit  of  grace  and  of  supplication."    Sup- 
plication is  not  needed  for  any  member  of 
the  Godhead,  and  the  Spirit's  work  in  this 


128   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

respect  must  therefore  be  for  us,  and  what 
is  promised  here  to  the  weakest  saint  in 
the  outgoing  of  his  soul  to  God  is  the  co- 
operation of  the  all-knowing,  all-powerful 
Spirit  of  God  Himself. 

If  you  will  now  turn  to  the  appointed 
time  for  the  fulfilling  of  Old  Testament 
promise,  you  will  read  in  Galatians  4:6, 
**  Because  ye  are  sons,  God  hath  sent  forth 
The  New  ^^^  Spirit  of  His  Son  into  our 
Testament     hearts,  cryinff,  Abba,  Father." 

tuimiment.      ^-.  /    i>(      i    i    •  i 

Here  we  tind  God  domg  exactly 
what  He  promised  to  do;  sending  the 
blessed  Holy  Spirit,  and  sending  Him  as  a 
Spirit  of  prayer,  enabling  us  to  say,  "  Our 
Father,  who  art  in  heaven."  Notice  in 
passing,  please,  that  this  Spirit  is  called 
the  Spirit  of  His  Son.  Because  we  have 
the  Spirit  of  His  Son  we  are  Sons.  Now 
read  1  John  3:1,  and  think  of  all  this 
means !  It  is  rich  with  blessing  for  those 
who  understand.  It  is  through  the  Son 
that  "we  have  access  by  one  Spirit  unto 
the  Father"  (Ephesians  2: 18).  We  can 
*'come  boldly  to  the  throne  of  grace"  be- 


Prayer  and  the  Holy  Spirit        129 

cause  our  Father  sits  upon  it.  It  is  the 
Spirit  of  Sonship  that  distinguishes  prayer 
from  beggary.  "When  the  evidence  of 
sonship  grows  dim  we  knock  feebly  at 
mercy's  door." 

But  this  is  not  all  the  Word  says  about 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  prayer.  We  read  in 
Romans  8:26,  "The  Spirit  also  helpeth 
our  infirmity;  for  we  know  not 
what  we  should  pray  for  as  we  StercesSon. 
ought,  but  the  Spirit  Himself 
maketh  intercession  for  us  with  groan- 
ings  which  cannot  be  uttered." 

The  word  "infirmity,"  while  referring 
to  our  human  weakness  in  general,  has  its 
special  reference  here  to  our  weakness  in 
prayer.  The  word  "helpeth"  is  a  queer 
compound  in  the  original,  composed  of 
three  different  words,  and  literally  means, 
"to  lay  hold  of  in  connection  with."  It  is 
the  same  word  Martha  used  when  she  told 
the  Master  to  bid  Mary  help  her  in  the 
work  she  was  doing.  How  precious  this 
truth!  What  if  the  new  birth  does  not 
wholly  relieve  us  of  all  infirmity.?     Have 


130   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

we  not  One  ever  with  us  whose  strength 
is  made  perfect  in  our  weakness  (2  Cor. 
12:9)? 

And  when  "we  know  not  what  to  pray 
for  as  we  ought,"  how  does  He  help  us? 
It  is  said  that  "He  maketh  intercession 
for  us  with  groanings  that  cannot  be  ut- 
tered." The  word  "intercession"  is  the 
same  word  used  of  Christ  in  1  John  2:1, 
"If  any  man  sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with 
the   Father,   Jesus    Christ   the 

The 


Christian  RightCOUS."       We    haVC,    there- 

advocates. 


has  two         fore,  two  advocates  continually 


pleading  our  cause  before  the 
throne  of  grace.  Christ's  intercession 
takes  place  in  heaven;  the  Holy  Spirit's 
takes  place  on  earth  in  the  believer's  heart. 
Christ  pleads  at  the  throne  of  glory  for  His 
redeemed  that  He  may  obtain  for  them  the 
benefit  of  His  sacrifice;  the  Holy  Spirit 
pleads  at  the  throne  of  grace  for  all  the 
deep  and  hidden  needs  of  the  soul. 

As  to  the  precise  character  of  the  Spirit's 
intercession  for  us,  we  find  ourselves  in  the 
realm  of  that  which,  to  a  certain  degree 


Prayer  and  the  Holy  Spirit       131 

must  remain  unintelligible.  The  verse  is 
a  mine  of  truth,  and  if  you  would  discover 
all  of  its  hidden  treasure,  you  must  dig 
deep  down.  There  are  two  interpreta- 
tions, and  since  what  we  are  writing  is 
designed  as  a  help  in  the  study  of  this  so 
very  important  subject,  we  shall  here  en- 
deavor to  set  them  forth  in  such  way  as  to 
help  you  to  a  conclusion  of  your  own,  re- 
serving, of  course,  the  same  privilege  for 
ourselves. 

One  of  these  interpretations  has  been 
developed  recently  and  at  length  in  Kuy- 
per's  somewhat  overloaded  work  on  the 
Holy  Spirit  ("The  Work  of  the  „,  ^„^^^,.^ 
Holy  Spirit,"  pasje  636).  explanation 

n^i   .     .  ^    °    .  1   •    1      1         Ot  Rom.  8 :26. 

i  his  interpretation,  which  has 
remained  for  Dr.  Kuyper  to  elaborate  in 
such  detail,  is  very  ingenious,  and  withal 
so  attractive  that  we  have  found  our- 
selves almost  wishing  that  the  Scripture 
in  question  had  made  it  a  little  clearer  that 
such  is  really  its  meaning;  for  Dr.  Kuy- 
per's  explanation  is  by  no  means  an  un- 
substantiated one,  though  much  he  has 


132    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

written  in  connection  with  it  is  gathered 
by  inference  rather  than  from  the  Word 
of  God. 

In  a  word,  Kuyper  argues  that  the  in- 
tercession of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  altogether 
independent  of  our  spirit,  and  that  the 
unutterable  groanings  in  our  heart  are 
His,  the  Holy  Spirit's,  and  not  those  which 
we,  incited  by  the  Spirit,  heave  forth. 

His  reasons  for  this  view  are  as  fol- 
lows: 

1.  Since  the  groanings  of  verse  23  prop- 
erly belong  to  us,  the  "likewise"  of  verse 
26  must  "introduce  a  new  thing,"  and  the 
groanings  therefore  are  not  ours  as  in  verse 
23,  but  the  Spirit's. 

2.  The  word  "intercession"  is  the  same 
as  used  in  verse  34,  and  since  Christ's  in- 
tercession is  wholly  His  own,  why  is  the 
same  not  true  of  the  Spirit? 

3.  One  of  the  prepositions  (anti)  in  the 
word  "helpeth"  confirms  this  explanation. 
The  word  "helpeth"  is  made  up  of  two 
prepositions  and  a  verb.  The  word  is 
"sunantilambano" ;  sun  (with),  anti  (over 


Prayer  and  the  Holy  Spirit        133 

against,  or  in  place  of),  and  lambano  (to 
take  hold). 

4.  Verse  27  says  that  God  knoweth  the 
mind,  not  of  the  man,  but  of  the  Spirit 
who  maketh  intercession. 

5.  The  intercession  is  made  "according 
to  the  will  of  God,"  and  this  can  be  said 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  alone. 

With  this  explanation  thus  confirmed  in 
his  mind,  Kuyper  deducts  from  it  a  most 
pleasing  view  of  the  Spirit's  work  in 
prayer.  Such  independent  intercession  of 
the  Spirit  in  our  behalf  takes  place  be- 
cause of  our  infirmity.  If  we  were  brought 
at  once  by  regeneration  into  the  condition 
of  perfect  holiness,  such  intercession  of  the 
Spirit  for  the  saint  would  not  be  necessary, 
for  the  saint  then  being  himself  „^   „  .  .,, 

o  The  Spirit's 

all    that    he    ought    to    be    could    intercession 

pray  as  he  ought  to  pray.    Such  uy  our 
unutterable    groanings    of    the  ^"^°^^*y- 
Spirit  in  the  Christian's  behalf  are  there- 
fore to  be  thought  of  as  taking  place  in 
proportion  as  the  Christian  fails  to  prop- 
erly pray  for  himself.    Such  we  are  to  be- 


134    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

lieve  to  be  especially  the  case  in  the  heart 
of  the  young  Christian,  because  in  his 
early  Christian  experience,  being  yet  a 
babe  in  the  new  life,  he  knows  neither  how 
nor  what  to  pray  for  as  he  ought.  Such, 
Kuyper  would  have  us  believe,  is  true  of 
"the  child  regenerated  in  the  cradle  and 
deceased  before  conversion  was  possible, 
and  who  could  not  pray  for  himself" :  The 
Holy  Spirit  in  him,  therefore,  prays  for 
him  with  groanings  that  cannot  be  uttered. 
Such  intercession  He  also  makes  for  the 
indifferent  disciple  and  the  backslider  and 
for  the  one  who  *'has  fallen  into  tempo- 
rary apostasy."  Thus,  when  the  man  has 
ceased  praying  altogether,  the  Holy  Spir- 
it's prayer  within  him  continues  and  never 
fails. 

But  even  while  the  Spirit  thus  prays  in 
our  behalf.  He  is  teaching  us  more  and 
more  to  pray  correctly  for  ourselves,  and 
_     ,  as  we  advance  in  the  art.  His 

Praying  ^  ^  '     ^ 

tor  us  and     qwu      intercession      becoming; 

with  us.  .  .  ,  ° 

thereby  more  and  more  super- 
fluous, He  takes  up  his  work  in  our  own 


Prayer  and  the  Holy  Spirit        135 

prayers,  and  cries  unto  God  through  hu- 
man lips.  His  praying  jor  us  gives  place 
more  and  more  to  His  praying  with  us. 
While  He  is  praying  for  us,  He  is  at  the 
same  time  teaching  us  better  how  to  pray 
for  ourselves,  that  gradually  His  own  in- 
dependent praying  may  become  superflu- 
ous ;  not  that  it  will  ever  in  this  life  become 
wholly  superfluous,  for  even  in  our  most 
advanced  state  on  earth  we  will  still  have 
our  limitations,  and  be  circumscribed 
somewhat  by  our  infirmity.  Nor  is  it 
meant  that  the  Spirit  teaches  us  to  pray, 
that  He  may  leave  us  to  ourselves  in 
proportion  as  His  intercession  becomes 
unnecessary,  for  only  as  we  "pray  in  the 
Spirit"  (Jude  20)  can  we  really  pray  at  all, 
but,  comforting  as  the  thought  of  His  inter- 
cession for  us  may  be,  how  infinitely  better 
that  our  own  prayer  life  be  perfected  by 
Him  than  to  live  in  such  spiritual  infirmity 
as  forces  Him  to  cry  continually 
to  God  in  our  behalf.  We  ask  view!^  °^ 
you  now,  whoever  you  may  be 
that  reads  these  pages.  Is  not  this  a  most 


136    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

inviting  thought?  It  is  rich  with  mean- 
ing. It  flashes  with  beauty  like  a  jewel  in 
the  sunlight.  It  is  full  of  comfort.  Just 
to  sit  and  think  of  it  means  to  be  "lost  in 
wonder,  praise,  and  love."  And  it  is  not 
an  unlikely  thought.  Nor  is  there  any 
reason  for  doubting  its  truth.  It  is  not 
unscriptural.  I  mean  by  that,  there  is 
nothing  in  Scripture  to  oppose  it  even  if  it 
be  not  explicitly  taught  in  the  verse  under 
consideration. 

Now  let  us  see  what  others  have  said 

about  this  remarkable  verse.     There  is 

another  interpretation.    It  belongs  to  the 

expositors  of  the  earlier  period,  and  is  the 

interpretation    that    has    been 

The  other  ,,  •        i        t     •       i  i 

interpre-  usually  rcceived.  It  IS  that  the 
tation.  groanings   in  question  are  the 

unutterable  sighs  of  the  human  soul  as  it 
is  incited  and  wrought  upon  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Olshausen  and  most  critical  stu- 
dents of  the  past  century  are  so  emphatic 
in  their  opposition  to  ascribing  groans  to 
the  Holy  Spirit  that  it  takes  several  ex- 
clamation   points   to   express    their    sur- 


Prayer  and  the  Holy  Spirit        137 

prise  that  any  one  would  ever  think  of 
doing  it. 

Ponder  over  the  verse  as  we  will,  we 
cannot  get  away  from  the  impression  that 
in  some  way  these  groanings  are  to  be 
associated  with  the  consciousness  of  the 
individual,  and  when  once  this  is  admitted, 
it  becomes,  in  part  at  least,  fatal  to  the 
view  which  Dr.  Kuyper  has  championed. 
Doubtless  you  have  already  inferred  from 
the  discussion  of  that  view  that  the  inde- 
pendent intercession  of  the  Spirit  is  in 
Kuyper's  mind  something  altogether  apart 
from  the  believer's  consciousness.  In  fact, 
he  says,  "We  are  not  conscious  of  it." 

We  remark: 

1.  This  does  not  necessarily  follow, 
even  though  you  think  of  these  groanings 
as  belonging  wholly  to  the  Spirit.  Strange 
enough,  Kuyper  himself  admits  that  these 
groanings  may  be  through  the  human 
organs  of  speech  (and  so,  of  course,  some- 
thing, we  must  say,  in  which  the  believer 
necessarily  shares),  though  seemingly  un- 
aware that  such  admission  is  utterly  in- 


138    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

compatible  with  the  teaching  for  which 
he  makes  the  verse  responsible.  This  we 
will  make  clear  in  a  moment. 

2.  The  groanings  may  be  attributed  to 
the  Spirit,  as  the  author,  inspirer,  and 
finally  the  interpreter  of  them,  and  yet  in 
a  very  certain  sense  be  said  to  be  our  own. 

In  two  other  instances  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  said  to  be  the  agent  of  expression  within 
us.  In  Matthew  10:20  it  is  said,  "Take 
no  thought  (overanxious  concern)  how  or 
what  ye  shall  speak;  for  it  shall  be  given 
unto  you  in  that  same  hour  what  ye  shall 
speak.  For  it  is  not  ye  that  speak,  but  the 
Spirit  of  your  Father  that  speaketh  in 
you."  It  is  here  the  Spirit  who  speaks, 
and  yet  not  apart  from  the  disciple's  con- 
sciousness nor  without  the  use  of  the 
human  organs  of  speech,  nor  in  such  a 
way  that  it  cannot  be  said  in  a  very  certain 
sense  that  it  is,  nevertheless,  the  disciple 
who  speaks.  This  is  made  clearer  still  by 
other  Scripture.  In  Galatians  4:6  it  is 
said,  "Because  ye  are  sons,  God  sent  forth 
the  Spirit  of  His  Son  into  our  hearts,  cry- 


Prayer  and  the  Holy  Spirit        139 

ing,  Abba,  Father,"  and  in  Romans  8 :  15 
it  is  said,  "But  ye  have  received  the  Spirit 
of  adoption  whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Fa- 
ther." What  in  one  passage  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  said  to  do,  in  the  other  is  predi- 
cated of  ourselves  as  influenced  and  in- 
cited by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

3.  The  words,  "We  know  not  what  we 
should  pray  for  as  we  ought,"  which  serve 
to  introduce  the  particular  help  given  by 
the  Spirit,  strongly  intimate  an  effort  on 
the  believer's  part. 

4.  The  words  "cannot  be  uttered"  favor 
this  view.  They  must  refer  to  human  in- 
capacity. If  the  phrase,  which  is  one 
word  in  the  Greek,  could  be  translated 
"unuttered,"  that  is,  mute,  inaudible,  it 
might  not  be  altogether  inadmissible  to 
say  they  belong  wholly  to  the  Spirit,  for 
such  groanings  might  then  be  thought  of 
as  some  fervent  internal  sighing  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  constituting  a  silent,  inarticu- 
late outgoing  to  God  on  the  Spirit's  part 
in  our  behalf. 

But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  transla- 


140    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

tion,   "unutterable,"   that   is,   cannot   be 

uttered   or   expressed   in   words, — if   this 

translation  be  preferred,  then. 

The  mean-  ^     ^  '      _         ' 

ing  of  whether  the  ejroaninsjs  be  silent 

unutterable.  ^  •         ^  i 

or  otherwise,  now  can  we  pred- 
icate of  the  Holy  Spirit  any  such  incapac- 
ity? Is  there  any  thought  that  cannot  be 
expressed,  if  only  we  are  capable  of  find- 
ing the  proper  vehicle  of  expression?  And 
in  this  we  may  fail,  but  certainly  not  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

Now  that  both  the  Authorized  and  Re- 
vised translation  of  the  word  is  correct, 
and  that  the  emphasis  is  to  be  laid  not  on 
the  groanings  being  unuttered,  inaudible, 
but  on  their  being  unutterable,  that  is,  in- 
capable of  being  expressed  in  words  or 
distinct  terms,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that 
only  this  can  be  proved  by  linguistic  usage, 
and  is  favored  by  the  analogy  of  all  words 
of  like  ending  with  this  one,  and  adopted 
by  nearly  all  scholars,  past  and  present. 

5.  There  is  an  argument  in  the  soul's 
experience.  What  child  of  God  has  not 
been  in  the  place  of  uncertainty  when  he 


Prayer  and  the  Holy  Spirit       141 

was  not  sure  of  the  Father's  will;  in  the 
place   of    a   straightened    soul    when   he 
could  hardly  find  the  heart  to  „^  , 
pray  (2  Sam.  7 :  27) ;  or  (if  his  experiences 
experience  has  been  in  any  de- 
gree what  it  ought  to  be)  to  the  place  of 
spiritual  exaltation  which  seemed  like  a 
foretaste  of  something  still  beyond,  in  all 
of  which  he   felt  that  no  distinct  words 
could  express  to  God  the  infinite  good  for 
which  he  longed  or  the  blessing  that  w  ould 
allay  the  distress  of  his  heart? 

Since  such  experience,  which  is  actual, 
harmonizes  with  what  many  have  always 
supposed  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  Scrip- 
ture in  question,  it  cannot  be  unreason- 
able to  suppose  that  the  one  finds,  to  some 
extent,  its  explanation  in  the  other.  And 
if  it  be  true,  what  comfort  then  in  mo- 
ments of  such  uncertainty  and  such  in- 
tensity when  the  only  human  relief  is  in 
our  own  unutterable  sighings  and  groan- 
ings,  just  to  be  assured  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  beneath  it  and  back  of  it  and  in 
it  all,  and  that  in  these  outgoings  of  the 


142    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

soul  God  can  see  the  mind  of  the  Spirit 
who  is  through  them  making  known  our 
hidden  needs  at  the  throne  of  grace. 
„        .  6.  The  arguments  set  forth 

Kuyper's  o 

■view  by  Dr.  Kuyper  to  confirm  his 

examined.  .  ,  ,  •  i  i 

View  are  not  unquestionably 
conclusive.  See  them  again  on  page  131, 
for  we  are  now  to  examine  them. 

(a)  The  "Likewise"  simply  introduces 
a  new  ground  of  encouragement.  Our 
patience  born  of  hope  is  the  first  ground, 
and  now  is  introduced  the  Holy  Spirit's 
help  as  a  second.  Even  though  we  grant 
the  word  looks  further  on  to  the  new 
groanings  to  be  introduced,  it  can  hardly 
be  said  to  define  in  any  way,  even  by  con- 
trast with  verse  23,  the  more  particular 
character  of  the  groanings. 

(6)  The  fact  that  the  usual  word  for 
intercession  is  used  carries  little  if  any 
weight  in  determining  this  particular  ques- 
tion, unless  Dr.  Kuyper  can  show  that  the 
view  he  opposes  could  more  reasonably 
expect  some  other  word. 

(c)  The  word  *'helpeth,"  which  Kuyper 


Prayer  and  the  Holy  Spirit       143 

argues  in  support  of  his  position,  favors, 
we  are  forced  to  feel,  the  very  opposite. 
It  is  only  used  twice  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, the  other  passage  being  in  Luke 
10 :  40,  where  Martha  begs  the  assistance 
of  Mary  to  help  her  in  the  work  she  was 
doing — to  share  with  her  in  serving.  It  is 
used  a  few  times  in  the  Greek  translation  of 
the  Old  Testament,  and  always  with  this 
same  meaning;  not  to  do  something  in 
place  of  another,  but  to  share  something 
with  another.  This  the  preposition  "sun  " 
(with)  argues.  It  may  also  be  argued 
from  the  preposition  "anti,"  whose  pri- 
mary meaning  is  "over  against,"  "oppo- 
site," and  not  "instead  of"  or  "in  place  of," 
which  are  secondary  and  derived  meanings. 

{d)  and  (e)  These  are  Kuyper's  strongest 
arguments.  Yet  even  these  hardly  war- 
rant the  wide  distinction  he  has  drawn  in 
this  operation  between  the  acting  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  our  own. 

It  does  not  say  that  God  knows  the 
mind  of  the  man,  for  the  man  has  prac- 
tically no  mind  himself  in  the  matter;  his 


144    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

spirit,  stirred  and  exalted  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  has  gotten  beyond  his  understand- 
ing, and  while  he  knows  he 
fo?*int?nse  wants  Something,  just  what  that 
sion*^^^^^"  infinite  good  for  which  he 
yearns  may  be  he  cannot  tell, 
and  under  the  operation  of  God's  own 
blessed  Spirit  he  comes  to  the  place  where 
his  emotions  are  too  big  for  utterance,  and 
where  he  can  do  nothing  but  give  himself 
to  inexpressible  groanings,  and  whether 
they  be  groanings  vocal  or  sighings  inaud- 
ible, God  can  see  in  them,  deeper  down 
than  human  thought  or  feeling,  what  is  the 
mind  of  the  Spirit  who  is  the  responsible 
agent  in  it  all.  And  why?  Not  because 
He  is  or  must  be  informed  by  the  Spirit,  but 
because  the  Spirit,  having  searched  the 
deep  things  of  God  (1  Cor.  2 :  10),  has  only 
been  urging  the  believer  on  toward  what 
God  Himself  has  prepared.  It  is  all  "ac- 
cording to  God,"  and  must  therefore  be  in- 
telligible to  Him,  and  in  it  all  He  discovers 
in  all  its  sublime  reality  His  own  holy  pur- 
pose for  His  praying  child. 


Prayer  and  the  Holy  Spirit        145 

Now,  with  such  help  as  we  have  tried 
to  give,  you  must  decide  for  yourself  which 
explanation  in  your  own  judgment  is  pref- 
erable.   We  repeat  that  by  our  ^^^^^^^^  ^^ 
judgment  we  are  inclined  to  the  *^e  reader's 
second,  and  prefer  to  think  of 
these  inexpressible  sighings  as  those  of  the 
human  soul  under  the  influence  and  in- 
citement of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

And  now  it  is  quite  easy  to  see  how  such 
a  view,  which  we  accept  as  correct,  is 
fatal,  in  part  at  least,  to  the  teaching 
which  Dr.  Kuyper  draws  from  his.  And 
this  will  be  seen  by  simply  asking,  Who  is 
it  that  longs  so  unspeakably  for  what  God 
may  have  to  give?  If  these  groanings 
may,  in  the  sense  above  described,  have  a 
reference  to  the  acting  of  the  human  soul, 
of  what  Christian  is  it  that  such  reaching 
out  after  God  may  be  aflarmed.^  Plainly 
not  the  half-hearted  and  indifferent  one, 
not  the  one  who  has  "'fallen  into  tempo- 
rary apostasy,"  but  just  the  one  whose 
prayer  life  has  been  most  perfected,  the 
one  who  has  progressed  furthest  in  divine 


146    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

things.  The  more  such  an  one  drinks  at 
the  fountain,  the  deeper  becomes  his 
thirst.  Conscious  still  of  unsatisfied 
yearnings,  though  he  may  not  understand 
just  what  the  needed  blessing  is,  nor  ex- 
actly how  to  pray  under  the  given  circum- 
stance, not  knowing  altogether  "what  to 
pray  for  as  he  ought,"  he  knows  full  well 
his  need  is  understood  at  the  throne  of 
grace  whence  comes  all  supply,  and 
though  carried  on  by  the  Spirit  beyond 
the  experience  of  the  more  ordinary  Chris- 
tian, because  of  his  "weakness,"  w^hich  he 
may  not  expect  to  disappear  entirely  in 
this  life,  he  finds  relief  only  in  those  Spirit- 
wrought  sighings  and  groanings  so  intense 
as  to  be  unutterable,  and  so  leaves  his  case 
in  the  hands  of  God.  This  is  certainly 
true  of  spiritual  blessing,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  so  when  seeking  for  material  good. 
"This  arises,"  says  Principal  Brown, 
principal  "partly  from  the  dimness  of 
Brown  our  Spiritual  vision  in  the  pres- 

quoted.  -i     i 

ent  veiled  state  and  the  large 
admixture  of  ideas   and   feelings   which 


Prayer  and  the  Holy  Spirit        147 

spring  from  the  fleeting  objects  of  sense 
that  there  is  in  the  very  best  views  and 
affections  of  our  renewed  natures;  partly 
also  from  the  necessary  imperfection  of 
all  human  language  as  a  vehicle  for  ex- 
pressing the  subtle  spiritual  feelings  of  the 
heart.  In  these  circumstances  how  can  it 
be  but  that  a  degree  of  uncertainty  should 
often  surround  our  spiritual  exercises,  and 
that,  in  our  nearest  approaches  and  the 
fullest  outpouring  of  our  hearts  to  our 
Father  in  heaven,  doubts  should  spring 
up  within  us  as  to  the  exact  needs  of  the 
soul  and  the  precise  frame  of  mind  alto- 
gether fitting  and  well  pleasing  to  God  in 
such  exercise.  Nor  do  these  anxieties 
subside,  but  rather  deepen  with  the  depth 
and  ripeness  of  our  spiritual  experience." 
Consequently,  instead  of  the  Spirit's 
intercessory  aid  decreasing  as  we  advance 
in  spiritual  life  until  it  "grad- 
ually becomes  superfluous,"  it  gauge*for 
is  just  in  proportion  as  we  thus  fnter^ceSion 
advance  that  His  help  is  most 
needed.    The  higher  we  climb  the  more 


148    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

we  need  His  help  to  reach  out  after  the 
things  beyond.  And  thus  we  see  that  the 
main  reference  of  the  verse,  so  far  as  the 
child  of  God  is  concerned,  is  to  one  of  the 
highest  aspects  of  prayer  in  the  experience 
of  the  most  advanced  believer,  and  not  to 
prayerless,  indifferent,  and  thoughtless 
Christians. 

Of  course,  the  Master  at  whose  feet 
such  an  one  has  sat  all  th«  course  through 
is  the  same  all-sufficient  Spirit  of  God,  and 
the  intercessory  help  to  which  we  have 
been  referring,  although  the  chief  import 
of  this  wonderful  verse  in  Romans  is  but 
one  form  in  which  His  much  needed  assist- 
ance is  vouchsafed  to  us,  and  the  perfect- 
ing of  the  prayer  life,  which  Kuyper  rep- 
resents as  increasing  in  proportion  as  the 
Spirit's  intercession  decreases,  is  just  the 
course  through  which  the  Christian  passes 
on  his  way  to  those  deeper  experiences  in 
which  the  Spirit  makes  intercession  for 
him  with  groanings  that  cannot  be  ut- 
tered. 

And  all  this  is  what  Paul  meant  by 


Prayer  and  the  Holy  Spirit       149 

"praying  in  the  Holy  Ghost."    Oh,  if  we 
did  but  realize  vividly  all  that  true  prayer 
implies,  and  our  own  spiritual  geif  sufn- 
infirmity  as   we   undertake    to  to®°ra'er*^ 
engage  in    prayer,  I    am    sure  ^^' 
we  would  as  vividly  realize  our  own  utter 
helplessness  apart  from  the  Spirit's  gra- 
cious help ;  but  thank  God,  the  Holy  Spirit 
knows  our  infirmity,  and  with  divine  pity 
He  looks  upon  us,  and  lends  Himself  to 
us,  and  so  purifying  our  affections,  en- 
lightening our  minds,  and  begetting  holy 
desires  He  works  in  us  the  prayer  that 
God  would  have  us  utter. 

McCheyne  used  to  say  that  a  great  part 
of  his  time  was  occupied  in  getting  his 
heart  in  tune  for  prayer.  It  does  take 
time  sometimes,  and  the  heart  never 
would  get  in  tune  if  it  were  not  Qetyng 
for  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.    It  ti^e  i^eart 

ready. 

is  He  Y>^ho  prepares  the  heart 
for  prayer;  He  who  creates  within  us  the 
desire  to  pray.    This  does  not  mean  that 
we  ought  never  to  pray  save  as  we  are  cer- 
tain of  the  impulse  of  the  Holy  Spirit.   We 


150    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

"ought  always  to  pray,"  and  even  though 
the  heart  be  out  of  tune,  though  it  be  dull 
and  cold  and  heavy,  even  though  we  do 
not  feel  like  praying,  we  ought  to  bow 
humbly  and  reverently  before  God,  and 
tell  Him  how  cold  and  prayerless  our 
hearts  are,  and  as  we  thus  wait  in  silence 
before  Him  our  hearts  will  be  warmed  and 
stirred  and  strangely  impressed  with  the 
mind  of  God,  and  coming  thus  into  tune 
with  the  heart  of  God  it  shall  be  made 
indeed  a  heart  of  prayer. 

What  a  wonderful  Helper  He  is ! 

But  more.  When  you  have  waited,  and 
are  still  uncertain,  and  the  impulse  of  hope 
almost  fails,  or  have  reached  the  place 
where  some  spiritual  good  beyond  any- 
thing we  have  ever  known  we  feel  must 
come  if  what  we  may  rightly  call  the  dis- 
tress of  our  hearts  is  to  be  relieved,  and 
we  can  do  nothing  but  pour  out  our  soul 
in  fervent  and  unutterable  sighings — 
when  we  have  reached  such  a  place;  that 
He,  the  Holy  Spirit,  should  give  to  these 
inexpressible  yearnings  which  He  Himself 


Prayer  and  the  Holy  Spirit       151 

caused  to  well  up  within  us  a  language  in 
which  God  reads  His  own  best  thought 
for  His  praying  child — this  is  help  in  itself 
wonderful  beyond  expression.  Do  you 
remember  the  Holy  Spirit's  other  name? 
It  is  Paraclete,  *'One  called  to  our  aid." 
Is  He  not  exactly  what  His  name  implies 
He  is? 


II 


THE  LIFE  THAT  PRAYS 

"If  ye  abide  in  me  and  my  words  abide  in  you,  ask 
what  ye  will  and  it  shall  he  done  unto  you." — John 
15:7. 

But  the  last  word  about  the  Spirit's  help 
in  prayer  has  not  been  said.  What  has 
been  said  encourages  us,  but  surely  this 
does  not  exhaust  Paul's  meaning  when  he 
says,  *'The  Spirit  also  helpeth  our  infirm- 
ity"; surely  this  does  not  make  up  all  that 
is  contained  in  His  thought  when  he  tells 
us  to  do  our  "praying  in  the  Holy  Spirit." 
If  it  did  we  might  well  despair  of  ever 
praying  acceptably  to  God;  for  when  we 
search  the  Scriptures  we  find  that  His 
promises  to  answer  prayer  all 

TTnderlvlne  l        u 

conditions?  de'pend  upon  the  julfillment  of 
certain  conditions  by  those  to 
whom  they  are  made.  And  these  condi- 
tions, who  could  fulfill  them  if  left  to  him- 
self !    But  as  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  source 

152 


The  Life  That  Prays  153 

of  all  our  spiritual  excellency,  surely  we 
can  make  no  mistake  if  we  seek  through 
Him,  and  through  Him  solely,  the  ability 
to  pray  after  the  manner  prescribed  by 
God. 

Many  a  child  of  God  is  complaining  of 
^   unanswered  prayer,  and  who  can  number 
the  prayers  that  have  fallen  from  human 
lips  to  which  no  response  has  petitions 
come  from  Him  for  whose  ear  without 
J     they  were  intended? 
I  /    Yet  who  was  it  that  said,  "Ask  and  ye 
/   shall    receive"?      Surely    there    must    be 
(_  something   wrong   somewhere;    we   need 
only  to  remember  that  with  God's  prom- 
ise to  answer  prayer  is  linked  always  an 
inseparable    condition,    and    if 

*  11  ^X^hfiTfi       fill  6 

prayer  is  not  answered,  then  fault  ues. 
either  God  is  unfaithful  or  we 
have  fallen  short  in  what  is  required  of  us 
to  make  our  prayers  availing,  and  as  the 
first  alternative  is  not  for  one  second  to 
be  entertained,  it  becomes  us  to  consider 
very  carefully  what  are  the  conditions 
which  if  fulfilled  place  God  Himself  under 


154    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

obligation  to  answer  the  prayers  of  His 
children. 

These  conditions  of  acceptable  prayer: 
let  us  study  them  now.  They  are,  of 
course,  to  some  extent  mutually  inclusive. 
They  might,  indeed,  all  be  gathered  up  in 
one.  I  have  seen  mention  of  no  less  than 
a  score  of  them,  and  since  it  is,  after  all,  as 
some  one  has  said,  *'the  life  that  prays," 
these  as  well  as  all  other  elements  of  Chris- 
tian character  may  with  no  impropriety 
be  called  conditions  of  acceptable  prayer. 
Humility  and  sincerity  and  reverence  and 
such  like  must  all  enter  into  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  praying  soul  if  God  is  to  have 
respect  to  the  offered  petition.  All  this  is 
very  plain;  there  is  no  diflficulty  about  it. 
But  there  are  other  requirements,  and  if 
we  may  not  say  they  are  more  essential, 
they  are  indeed  not  only  absolutely  indis- 
pensable but  they  are  the  very  ones  which 
necessarily  involve  these  which  we  have 
just  mentioned  and  others  like  them. 

These  are  the  conditions  which  some- 
times the  children  of  God  say  are  not  easy 


The  Life  That  Prays  155 

to  fulfill.    Certainly  not !   apart  from  the 
aid  of  that  Divine  One  who  "also  helpeth 
our   infirmity,"  but,   oh,  if  we 
did  but  accept  God's  word  con-  ^^y  to^^ 
cerning  what    He  would   have  p^^y^^^  ^" 
the  Holy  Spirit  accomplish  in 
us  and  then  trust  Him  to  verify  His  truth 
in  these  lives  of  ours  surrendered  to  His 
purpose,  how  mighty  we  would  become 
even  in  prayer  because  His  strength  will 
have   been   made    perfect  in    our  weak- 
ness. 

There  are  four  of  these  conditions  men- 
tioned in  Scripture. 

The  first  all-inclusive  one  you  will  find 
in  John  15 :  7,  "If  ye  abide  in  me  and  my 
words  abide  in  you,  ask  what 
ye  will  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  condition, 
you."    We  often  hear  it  said  of 
Martin  Luther,  as  though  it  were  a  re- 
markable thing,  that  he  could  have  what- 
ever he  would  from  God;  but  what  more 
remarkable  that  than  what  is  here  said  to 
be  possible  for  every  child  of  God  to  have? 
Godjias  no  favorites  in  this  matter,  and 


156    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

the  conditions  were  alike  for  Luther  as 
they  are  for  us  and  all  others. 

"If  we  abide  in  Him  and  His  words 
abide  in  us."  His  promise  is  one  of  unlim- 
ited power  in  prayer.  But  what  does  it 
mean  to  abide  in  Him  and  to  have  His 
words  abide  in  us  ?  Evidently  it  has  to  do 
with  the  life  we  live,  for  the  Master  who 
made  the  statement  had  just  finished 
speaking  of  Himself  as  the  Vine  in  whom 
„^     .  as    branches    believers    are    to 

The  vine 

and  the  abide.  It  is,  after  all,  the  life 
that  prays ;  the  prayer  of  a 
righteous  man  is  like  music  to  the  ear  of 
God,  and  in  sending  back  the  appropriate 
answer  God  Himself  takes  infinite  delight. 
Now,  it  is  here  said  that  if  we  would 
have  power  to  pray  aright  we  must  abide 
in  Christ  as  the  branch  abides  in  the  vine. 
Certainly  our  relationship  with  Christ  is 
in  a  sense  and  in  a  degree  mystical,  but 
there  ought  to  be  no  such  mystical  inter- 
pretation of  any  Scripture  as  leaves  the 
thought  to  an  ordinary  mind  utterly  un- 
intelligible.    For   instance,    Christ   said, 


The  Life  That  Prays  157 

"Abide  in  Me  and  I  in  you,"  and  as  an 
explanation  of  the  meaning  involved  it  is 
not  unfrequent  to  hear  reference  made  to 
a  piece  of  iron  brought  to  a  white  heat  in 
the  furnace;  thus  the  iron  is  in  the  heat 
and  the  heat  is  in  tneif  on ;  but  to  my  mind, 
so  far  as  concerns  my  relationship  to 
Christ,  such  an  illustration  conveys  no 
appreciable  conception  whatsoever.  What 
Christ  said  is  really  not  so  difficult  to  un- 
derstand. It  is  the  branch  life,  said  He, 
that  gives  to  prayer  its  potency.  What 
now  does  it  mean  for  a  branch  to  abide  in 
a  vine.?  It  means  simply  that  it  is  to  be  in 
such  close  touch,  such  living  union  with 
the  vine  that  the  life  of  the  vine 
may  flow  unhindered  through  branch* 
it  on  its  fruit-bearing:  mission.  f^*^l^  ^^ 

o  the  vine. 

The  branch  is  utterly  depend- 
ent upon  the  vine  for  its  existence;  it  has 
no  life  of  its  own ;  unless  the  sap  from  the 
vine  flows  into  the  branch,  the  branch 
must  wither  and  be  fit  only  to  be  cut  away 
and  be  burned.  It  has  no  purpose  of  its 
own;  it  is  there  simply  and  solely  to  be  at 


158    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

the  disposal  of  the  vine  in  receiving  sap 
and  carrying  it  up  into  ripened  fruit. 

This,  and  precisely  this,  is  what  is 
meant  when  it  is  said  that  the  believer  is 
likewise  to  abide  in  Christ.  He  is  to  keep 
in  such  close  and  vital  touch  with  Christ 
that  there  may  be  and  will  be  a  constant 
inflow  of  Christ's  own  life.  It  means  to  so 
The  vital  utterly  renounce  the  self -life  as 
and  depend-  to  havc  uo  othcr  life.  Spiritually 

ent  touch.  ,  .  .  „ 

speaking,  save  as  it  comes  irom 
Him.  It  means  to  renounce  all  self-de- 
pendence and  to  so  abandon  ourselves  to 
Christ  that  He  may  fill  us  with  His 
thoughts,  and  fire  us  with  His  emotions 
and  incite  us  with  His  purposes  so  that 
our  desires  are  really  no  longer  our  own 
but  His,  and  since  His  life  is  His  Spirit 
the  prayer  we  now  offer  is  really  not  our 
own  but  the  prayer  of  Christ's  Spirit 
within  us.  Thus  do  we  pray  in  the  Spirit. 
A  meaning  ^o  abide  in  Christ!  Why, 
not  obscured  child  of  God,  this  is  something 

by  mystery.  -ii     <•  n     -^  • 

possible  tor  us  all;  it  means  sim- 
ply to  so  love  Him,  to  so  continually  think 


The  Life  That  Prays      '      159 

such  sweet  thoughts  about  Him,  to  so 

trust  Him  and  so  devote  ourselves  to  Him 

that  our  Hves  will  be  absolutely  at  His 

i  disposal  to  work  out  His  purpose  con- 

I  cerning  us  and  the  world  about  us.    Is  not 

[  this  plain  and  simple?    It  means  to  be  a 

branch  and  this,  in  short,  means  to  live 

solely  and  exclusively  for  the  Vine.    It  is 

the  branch  life  that  is  privileged  to  lay 

claim    to    the    unlimited    whatsoever    in 

prayer. 

But  Christ  also  said  that  His  words 
must  abide  in  us.  This  condition  is  really 
involved  in  the  other;  it  in  fact  „, 

^  His  words 

precedes  the  other  as  a  means  abiding 
to  it.    I  know  of  no  other  way 
to  abide  in  Christ  save  as  His  words  abide 
in  me. 

Christ's  words  are  in  a  most  vital  sense 
equivalent  to  Himself,  because  in  His 
words  He  reveals  Himself  to  us  and 
through  our  acceptance  of  them  He  im- 
parts Himself  to  us  with  all  His  power  for 
what  He  wishes  us  to  become.  His  prom- 
ises,   when    believingly    accepted,    bind 


160    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

Christ  Himself  over  us  to  bring  to  pass 
the  thing  He  hath  spoken;  His  commands^ 
when  gladly  received,  carry  with  them  the 
guarantee  of  Himself  with  His  power  to 
make  us  strong  to  do  His  will. 

But  plainer  still  it  will  doubtless  be  to 

say  that  His  words  abide  in  us  when  we 

believinglv    receive    them    into 

The  o  " 

meaning        our  hcarts  and  then  feed  upon 

made  plain.       ^  .  ^  ,        ^    . 

them  and  ponder  over  them  in 
deep  study  and  then,  best  of  all,  gladly 
and  constantly  obey  them  in  our  lives.  If 
Christ's  words  abide  in  us  we  can  say  with 
the  Psalmist,  "Thy  word  have  I  hid  in  my 
liSart,'*  and  like  him  we  will  find  in  them 
our  chief  delight,  and  not  only  will  we 
"meditate  therein  day  and  night,"  but  our 
whole  life  will  be  one  continued  exposition 
of  that  for  which  they  stand. 

Thus  again  it  becomes  plain  that  it  is 
the  life  that  prays.  The  prayer  which 
James  says  "availeth  much"  is  the  prayer 
of  a  righteous  man.  Therefore  is  it  that 
we  read  in  John,  "Whatsoever  we  ask  we 
receive  of    Him,  because   we   keep   His 


The  Life  That  Prays  161 

commandments  and  do  the  things  that 
are  pleasing  in  His  sight"  (1  John  3:21, 
22).  If  Jesus  could  say,  "I  know  Bight  uving 
that  Thou  hearest  me  always,"  again 
it  was  because  the  Father  could 
say,  "This  is  my  beloved  Son  in  whom  I 
am  well  pleased."  When  God  is  pleased 
with  the  life,  when  we  so  abide  in  Him 
and  His  words  so  abide  in  us  as  to  make 
our  life  what  it  ought  to  be,  we  can  begin 
to  pray  with  an  assurance  of  being  heard 
and  God  will  give  us  what  we  ask. 

A  feeble  prayer  always  points  to  a  feeble 
life.  If  prayer  is  not  effective,  it  is  evident 
from  the  condition  set  forth  in  the  parable 
of  the  vine  that  the  life  must  be  defective. 
To  live  aright  is  to  pray  aright. 

How  plain  it  is  that  this  is  the  all-inclu- 
sive condition,  and  how  evident  the  need 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  before  we  can  even 
begin  to  fulfill  it.  Look  at  it  as  we  will,  it 
all  depends  upon  Him.  Is  my  life  to  be  an 
abiding  one.^  How  can  it  be  except  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  sap  of  the  Heavenly  Vine, 
flow  richly  into  it  to  sustain  it  and  make 


162    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

it  healthy  and  vigorous.  Are  His  words 
to  abide  in  me?  How  can  they  except  the 
Holy  Spirit  apply  them  to  my 
topoSfbie  heart  and  work  them  out  in  my 
without  the  lifgp     Apart    from    Him   Paul 

Spirit's  aid.  ^ 

tells  us  we  can  neither  know 
the  things  of  God  nor  do  the  things  that 
are  pleasing  to  God.  To  pray  with  these 
conditions  fulfilled  is  to  "pray  in  the 
Spirit."  If  I  am  abiding  in  the  Vine,  the 
constant  inflow  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the 
life  of  the  Vine,  brings  into  my  spiritual 
being  the  very  desires  and  purposes  of  the 
Spirit,  and  so  the  prayer  that  is  formed  is 
not  so  much  my  own,  though  I  make  it  so, 
as  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit's,  and  so  God 
is  safe  in  His  promise  of  the  unlimited 
whatsoever. 

If  Christ's  words  are  abiding  in  me,  it 
is  because  they  have  been  the  instrument 
through  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  worked 
in  me  the  mind  of  Christ.  The  Word  is 
indeed  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  and  as  we 
ponder  carefully  the  words  given  to  us  of 
God,  trusting  the  Spirit  to  enlighten  the 


The  Lije  That  Prays  163 

mind  as  we  study,  the  prayer  that  has  been 
possibly  long  in  our  heart  will  begin  to 
shape  itself  anew  under  the  direction  of 
the  Spirit.  Thus  the  Spirit  is  the  real 
author  of  the  prayer,  and  we  can  trust  God 
to  give  us  whatsoever  we  ask,  because  we 
are  thus  kept  from  asking  amiss.  How 
evident  it  becomes  that  to  neglect  the 
Word  is  to  rob  oneself  of  the  sweet  privi- 
lege of  praying  in  the  Spirit,  which  in  short 
is  to  be  denied  the  privilege  of  praying  at 
all.  Disciple  of  Christ,  are  you  abiding  in 
Him  ?   Is  His  word  abiding  in  you  ? 


Ill 

PRAYING  IN  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST 

"Whatsoever  ye  shall  ash- in  my  name,  that  will 
I  dor— iomi  14: 13. 

A  second  condition  of  prayer  Jesus  sets 
forth  in  the  Scripture  quoted  above. 
Prayer,  in  order  to  prevail,  must  be  made 
in  the  name  of  Christ.  No  less  than  six 
times  in  close  succession  (John  14: 13, 14; 
15:  16;  16:  23,  24,  26)  He  mentions  it  "m 
my  name/*  as  though  the  disciples  were 
slow  to  understand  and  He  longed  to  have 
them  know,  and  we  as  well,  the  all-pre- 
vailing power  His  name  contained  to 
secure  the  favor  of  God. 

But  what  does  it  mean  to  pray  in  the 
name  of  Christ.^ 

To  pray  in  the  name  of  Christ  means, 
no  doubt,  that  we  go  to  God  in  His  name 
The  second  ^^^  ^^ot  in  ouv  own.  What  is  a 
condition.  namc.^  It  is  a  designation 
which     calls     to  our    mind    the     person 

164 


Praying  in  the  Name  of  Christ    165 

bearing  it;  it  sums  up  the  knowledge 
we  possess  of  a  being  and  stands  for  what 
he  is  and  has  done.  This  is  at  least  the 
meaning  Scripture  has  given  to  the  term. 
Thus,  when  Jesus  says,  'T  have  mani- 
fested thy  name  unto  the  men  which  thou 
gavest  me  out  of  the  world"  (John  17:  6), 
He  meant  that  He  had  manifested  to  them 
all  that  God  is  in  Himself  and  in  His  rela- 
tions; the  full  divine  character.  Thus,  to 
believe  "in  the  name  of  the  only  ^^^ 
begotten  Son  of  God"  means  to  meaning  of 
believe  in  the  person  of  Christ 
in  all  that  He  is  and  has  done  and  lives  to 
do.  The  name  stands  for  all  that  goes  to 
make  up  a  personality. 

Now,  to  do  anything  in  the  name  of  an- 
other is  to  do  it  as  his  representative  and 
with  the  authority  and  power  which  be- 
longs to  him  in  virtue  of  who  and  what  he 
is.  This  is  precisely  what  Jesus  meant 
when  He  said,  'T  am  come  in  my  Father's 
name  and  ye  receive  me  not;  if  another 
shall  come  in  his  own  name,  him  will  ye 
receive"  (John  5:43).     This  is  what  he 


166    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

meant  when  He  said,  "The  works  that  I 

do  in  my  Father's  name,  they  bear  witness 

of  me"  (John  10:25).     When,  therefore, 

we  are  privileged  to  pray  in  the  Name  of 

Christ,  the  most  evident  meaning  is  that 

we  have  been  granted  permission  to  use 

that  Name  as  the  ground  upon 

name*  the       which  to  Urge  our  plea  before 
ground  of      Qq(J     p^^^  ^jjy  jg  |.jjg  Name  of 

our  petition.  ^  J  ^  ^ 

Christ  of  any  value  in  securing 
for  us  the  favor  of  God.^  Because  the 
Name  stands  for  the  One  whose  it  is,  for 
His  glorious  person.  His  atoning  work  and 
His  ever-continuing  intercession,  and  God 
will  have  respect  to  our  petition  for  the 
sake  of  such  a  One  if  we  truly  come  in  His 
Name. 

When  I  use  another's  name  I  practically 
discard  my  own  name  as  being  of  no  value 
in  securing  what  I  want;  and  why.?  Be- 
cause my  name  stands  for  me,  and  what 
is  there  in  me  to  put  the  Almighty  under 
obligation  to  send  down  His  favors  from 
on  high.?  To  go  to  God  in  my  own  name 
is  to  go  as  did  the  Pharisee.    Five  times  in 


I 


Praying  in  the  Name  of  Christ    167 

his  few  short  sentences  he  used  the  pro- 
noun "I"  to  tell  God  who  he  was  and  what 
he  had  done.    After  all,  he  was  only  out 
on  parade.    He  really  went  up  to  the  tem- 
ple to  brag  and  not  to  pray ;  he  The 
asked    for    nothing,    and    got  on^drets 
what  he  asked  for.    But  when  p"**^®- 
the  publican  prayed  he  prayed  as  every 
sinner  ought  to  pray;  with  a  becoming 
sense  of  his  own  worthlessness  he  plead 
the  atoning  merits  of  his  Christ.    To  pray 
in  the  Name  of  Christ  is  primarily  to 
plead   favor  on   the   ground   of  Christ's 
merits  and  none  other. 

Mr.  Torrey  has  made  this  part  of  the 
subject  plain  by  the  use  of  a  very  simple 
illustration.  He  says,  "If  I  go  to  a  bank 
and  hand  in  a  check  with  my  name  signed 
to  it  I  ask  of  that  bank  in  my  own  name. 
If  I  have  money  deposited  in  that  bank 
the  check  will  be  cashed ;  if  not,  it  will  not 
be.  If,  however,  I  go  to  a  bank  with  some- 
body's else  name  signed  to  the  check  I  am 
asking  in  his  name,  and  it  does  not  matter 
whether  I  have  money  in  that  bank  or 


168    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

any  other,  if  the  person  whose  name  is 
signed  to  the  check  has  money  there,  the    J 
„      ^    ,       check  will  be  cashed.      So  it  is     ■ 

How  bank 

checks  are     when  I  go  to  tlic  bank  of  heaven, 

honored;  i,         t  4.     r-'     J   •  T 

when  1  go  to  (jod  m  prayer.  1 
have  nothing  deposited  there,  I  have  ab- 
solutely no  credit  there,  and  if  I  go  in  my 
own  name  I  will  get  absolutely  nothing; 
but  Jesus  Christ  has  unlimited  credit  in 
heaven,  and  He  has  granted  me  the  privi- 
lege of  going  to  the  bank  with  His  name 
on  my  checks,  and  when  I  thus  go,  my 
prayers  will  be  honored  to  any  extent." 
Sweet  privilege !  Praying  in  the  Name  of 
Christ.  It  was  *'by  Christ  Jesus,"  Paul 
said,  that  "My  God  shall  supply  all  your 
need  according  to  His  riches  in  glory." 

But  there  is  something  more  to  praying 
in  the  name  of  Christ  than  this.  The  free 
An  use  of  another's  name  certainly 

additional         •         i*  •    j.'         l  ^    l' 

meaning  to  implies  somc  mtimatc  relation- 
the  phrase,  gjjjp  between  the  one  who  gives 
his  name  and  the  one  who  is  privileged  to 
act  in  it. 

The  only  question  which  has  divided 


Praying  in  the  Name  of  Christ    169 

opinion  is  whether  such  an  idea  actually 
resides  in  the  phrase  itself,  "in  my  Name," 
or  whether  it  is  an  idea  to  be  gathered 
from  what  genuine  prayer  in  that  Name 
involves.  Critical  scholarship  seems  to 
preponderate  in  favor  of  the  first  opinion, 
and  hence  would  have  us  believe  that  to 
pray  in  the  Name  of  Christ  means  at  once 
to  pray  in  His  Spirit,  with  His 
mind  and  in  His  nature.  (Thol-  ™nonoSous 
uck,  Lange,  Olshausen,  Alford,  J"^^™^ 
Stier,  Jukes,  Murray.)  If  this 
be  true  it  appears  at  once  to  be  not  unlike 
the  condition  we  previously  discussed 
where  we  saw  that  to  pray  with  power  was 
the  privilege  only  of  him  who  was  abiding 
in  Christ  and  had  Christ's  Spirit  and 
Christ's  Mind  abiding  in  him.  That  this 
view  is  not  without  argument  in  its  favor 
is  evident  from  what  we  saw  to  be  ex- 
pressed in  a  name.  What  a  profound 
thing  this  makes  praying  in  the  Name  of 
Christ  to  be ! 

But  in  spite  of  all  that  one  can  say,  it  is 
not  easy  to  depart  from  the  old  conception 


170    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

of  praying  on  the  basis  of  the  Saviour's 
merits,  and  since  this  conception  so  plainly 
inheres  in  the  phrase  and  since  pleading  in 
prayer  the  Name  of  Christ  as  the  meritori- 
ous cause  of  our  acceptance  necessarily 
implies  all  this  other  view  maintains, 
which,  vice  versa,  would  not  be  true,  it 
seems  best  to  adhere  to  the  old  interpreta- 
tion and  to  bring  in  this  other  idea  as  its 
natural  consequence. 

Thus  we  see  that  praymg  in  the  Name 
of  Christ  is  not  so  easy  an  achievement  as 
,^  ^  „  ^      some  may  be  inclined  to  think. 

What  Ood  J 

takes  into  As  Henry  Clay  Trumbull  has 
said,  *Tt  is  not  our  saying,  but 
our  showing,  that  what  we  ask  is  in  the 
Name  of  Jesus,  that  God  notes  and  takes 
into  account."  It  is  the  place  which  the 
Name  has  in  my  life  that  determines  the 
power  it  is  to  have  in  my  prayer. 

It  is  a  mighty  privilege — to  pray  in  the 
Name  of  Christ.  It  behooves  us,  there- 
fore, to  think  for  a  while  what  is  implied 
in  the  use  of  that  phrase  and  who  has  a 
right  to  use  it.     We  recall  how  certain 


Praying  in  the  Name  of  Christ    171 

unworthy  characters  "took  upon  them  to 
call  over  them  which  had  evil  spirits  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  saying,  "We  ad- 
jure you  by  Jesus  whom  Paul  preacheth," 
and  the  evil  spirit  thus  adjured  answered 
and  said,  "Jesus  I  know,  and  Paul  I  know, 
but  who  are  you?"  and  the  occasion  re- 
sulted disastrously  for  those  who  un- 
worthily and  fraudulently  sought  to  make 
use  of  that  great  and  blessed  Name. 

We  have  already  remarked  that  the  use 
of  one  person's  name  by  another  implies 
some  intimate  relationship  between  them. 
It,  in  fact,  supposes  a  community  of  inter- 
ests.   Would  you  be  willing  to  grant  me 
the    unqualified    use    of    your  ^he  deter- 
name  to  use  it  when  and  for  mining  right 
whatever  purpose  1  chose,  un-  another's 
less  you  felt  that  your  honor  "*°^*' 
and  your  interests  were  as  safe  with  me  as 
with  yourself?    And  think  you  the  Lord 
of  heaven  could  trust  His   all-powerful 
Name  with  any  one  out  of  harmony  with 
His  Spirit  or  in  whose  hands  the  interests 
of  His  kingdom  would  not  be  secure? 


172    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

The  use  of  another's  name  supposes  the 
surrender  of  my  individual  interests  to  his 
interests  or  to  such  interests  as  are  com- 
mon to  us  both  by  virtue  of  the  union  ex- 
isting between  us.  When  an  oflScer  col- 
lects money  in  the  name  of  the  government 
it  is  not  to  fill  his  own  purse,  but  for  the 
government's  sake;  when  he  makes  an 
arrest  in  the  name  of  the  state  it  is  not  for 
personal  spite,  but  in  the  interest  of  the 
commonwealth. 

Andrew  Murray,  in  his  splendid  vol- 
ume, "The  School  of  Prayer,"  shows  the 
Andrew  Mur-  right  to  usc  another's  name  in 
lowReia-  **"  virtuc  of  a  threshold  union.  It 
tionship."      ^jii  \yQ  helpful  just  here. 

1.  A  legal  union.  When  a  merchant, 
before  going  on  an  extended  vacation, 
gives  to  his  partner  or  even  to  his  clerk  the 
power  of  attorney  to  use  his  name  in  the 
transaction  of  business,  involving  the  right 
to  draw  upon  it  for  thousands  of  dollars 
when  necessary,  it  is  understood  that  that 
name  be  used  only  in  the  interests  of  the 
business,  and  it  is  because  he  can  trust 


Praying  in  the  Name  of  Christ    173 

this  second  party  to  be  faithful  to  the  in- 
terests involved  that  he  puts  his  name  and 
his  property  at  his  command. 

2.  A  life  union.  A  son  bears  his  father's 
name  because  he  has  his  life,  and  his 
father's  friends  will  honor  and  help  him 
when  he  comes  to  them  in  his  name,  if  he 
be  found  with  his  father's  character  and 
not  seeking  anything  destructive  to  his 
father's  interests. 

3.  A  union  of  love.  The  bride  gives  up 
her  name  to  wear  that  of  the  bridegroom. 
So  he,  having  chosen  her  for  himself,  gives 
to  her  his  name  and  counts  on  her  to  use 
it  only  for  his  interests,  for  being  now  one 
his  interests  are  hers  as  well. 

All  this  is  true  of  us  in  using  me  name 
of  Christ. 

1.  Having  gone  back  to  heaven  Christ 
has  committed  to  us  the  interests  of  His 
kingdom,    with   full   power   of 
attorney,  so  to  speak,  to  use  His  Jmstration 
Name  in  drawing;  supplies  for  app"®^  *o 

o         rl^  ^      prayer. 

the  advancement  of  His  busi- 
ness and  in  so  far  as  our  lives  are  yielded 


174    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

to  the  interests  of  the  kingdom  (and  these 
interests  are  always  ours  if  we  only  knew 
it),  so  far  may  we  plead  His  Name  trust- 
ingly and  confidingly,  for  it  will  set  open 
for  us  the  very  treasure  house  of  heaven. 

2.  Christ  and  the  believer  are  one;  hav- 
ing His  life  we  bear  His  Name  and  in  pro- 
portion as  we  have  His  character  and  are 
in  harmony  with  His  Spirit  we  may  expect 
to  prevail  with  God  in  the  use  of  His 
Name. 

3.  Being  united  in  a  love-union  with  the 
Heavenly  Bridegroom,  His  interests  have 
become  mine,  and  in  so  far  as  I  give  my- 
self to  living  in  my  new  Name  does  that 
Name  become  the  all-prevailing  plea  in 
which  I  may  ask  and  receive  whatsoever 
I  will. 

Thus  we  see,  after  all,  what  depths  of 
meaning  there  is  to  praying  in  the  Name 

of  Christ.  It  is  no  mere  saying, 
name  no  **For  Jcsus'  sakc,"  as  though 
formula         ^^^^  Were  somc  magic  formula 

but  it  is  to  pray  in  union  with 
the  life  and  mind  of  Christ.     If  He  has 


Praying  in  the  Name  of  Christ    175 

bid  me  pray  in  His  Name  it  must  be  a 
prayer  which  He  can  endorse. 
/  Such  a  prayer  I  cannot  make  save  as  the 
Holy  Spirit  teach  me  the  art.  He  must 
keep  my  heart  fixed  on  Jesus  whose  aton- 
ing merit  is  the  only  open  way  to  God. 
He  must  reveal  to  me  the  full  meaning  of 
the  name  of  Jesus  and  help  me  to  make  it 
supreme  in  my  life,  for  if  my 

.  .  .  Prayer  in 

life  has  anything  to  do  with  my  Christ's 

1  f    1      name 

prayer  how  can  my  prayer  tul-  impossible 
fill  the  condition  of  power  save  *J"*i^'"°°* 
as  my  life  is  open  to  the  influ-  «'  ^^«  Hoiy 
ence   of   Him   who   alone   can 
make  it  what  it  ought  to  be.    Oh,  Chris- 
tian, take  it  to  heart:    You  cannot  pray 
aright  without  the. Holy  Sj^rit.    "Hither- 
to," said  Jesus,  *'ye  have  asked  nothing  in 
my  name.    In  that  day  ye  shall  ask  in  my 
Name."    In  what  day.?    In  the  day  when 
He  Himself  came  back  in  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  dwell  in  the  believer's  heart,  and  "in 
that  day,"  which  is  this  day,  when  the 
Holy  Spirit,  who  came  to  "teach  us  all 
things,"  is  given  the  supreme  control  in 


176    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

our  lives  we  will  be  able  to  go  to  the 
Father  in  the  name  of  Him  whom  we 
represent  and  say,  "Father,  this  is  His 
wish  for  me,"  and  when  the  Father  dis- 
covers in  the  tones  of  our  voice  and  the 
throbbings  of  our  hearts  our  love  and  like- 
ness to  His  Son,  for  the  sake  of  that  dear 
Son  whatsoever  we  ask  He  will  do  it.  Oh, 
let  us  lay  hold  of  this  precious  truth. 

It  is  said  that  when  Queen  Elizabeth 
was  in  power  in  England  that  she  gave  to 
her  friend  and  lover,  the  Earl  of  Essex,  a 
ring  set  with  a  most  precious  stone,  and 
told  him  that  in  case  he  ever  came  into  any 

The  ring  set  P^^^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^  personal  trou- 
witfi  a  ble,  if  he  would  send  to  her  the 

ring  he  should  have  her  help 
and  her  deliverance,  no  matter  what  the 
circumstance  might  be  that  brought  him 
into  unpleasant  straights.  Some  years 
after  it  so  came  to  pass  that  the  Earl  fell 
into  the  displeasure  of  the  authorities.  He 
had  likewise  become  estranged  from  the 
queen,  and  the  outcome  of  it  was  that  he 
was  condemned  to  the  block.  He  sent  up 


Praying  in  the  Name  of  Christ    177 

the  all-powerful  ring  to  the  queen,  but  no 
help  came  from  the  throne  and  the  man 
was  beheaded.  But  all  the  while  the 
queen  had  waited  patiently  for  the  ring, 
and  it  was  discovered  after  the  execution 
that  through  the  intervention  of  an  enemy 
it  was  hidden  from  her.  Such  a  ring  God 
has  given  us,  set  with  a  Name  that  is 
sweeter  and  more  costly  than  any  dia- 
mond or  precious  stone.  Let  us  send  it  up 
for,  blessed  be  God,  He  will  not  disown  it 
nor  can  any  power  in  heaven  or  earth  or 
hell  keep  it  from  Him. 


IV 


PRAYING  ACCORDING  TO  THE  WILL 
OF   GOD 

"And  this  is  the  confidence  we  have  in  Him  that 
if  we  ask  any  thing  according  to  His  will,  He  heareth 
us,  and  if  we  know  that  He  hear  us,  whatsoever  we 
ask,  we  know  that  we  have  the  petitions  we  desired  of 
Him."—!  John  5: 14,  15. 

Here  is  the  third  condition  of  successful 
prayer — prayer  according  to  the  will  of 
God.  That  there  ought  to  be  some  limi- 
tation to  the  right  of  petition; 
condition.  that  there  ought  to  be  some 
limit  within  which  a  child  can 
reasonably  expect  his  Father  to  grant 
what  he  asks  for,  no  right  reasoning  indi- 
vidual can  for  a  single  moment  doubt,  and 
at  the  fact  that  there  is  such  a  limitation 
mentioned  in  Scripture  he  cannot  there- 
fore be  surprised. 

If  we  desire  to  know  the  testimony  of 
the  Word  upon  any  subject,  it  is  evident 

178 


Praying  According  to  the  Will  oj  God  179 

that  we  must  take  its  teaching  upon  that 
subject  in  its  entirety.  It  could  not  be 
expected  either  of  Christ  in  His  teaching 
or  of  the  Apostles  in  their  writing  that 
they  set  forth  the  whole  doctrine  of  prayer 
on  every  occasion  where  reference  to  it 
seemed  appropriate.  The  Bi- 
ble is  full  of  theology,  but  it  is  safe  con- 

,  ,  ,  •        1  J     '£  elusions  call 

not   systematized,   and   ii   you  for  a  com- 
want  its  teaching  on  any  sub-  g^^^y^oj 
ject,  you  must  compare  Scrip-  scripture, 
ture  with   Scripture  to  get  it. 
For  instance,  while  we  read  in  one  place 
that  repentance  is  necessary  to  salvation, 
we  must  not  forget  that  elsewhere  in  the 
Word   salvation   is   made  to   depend   on 
other  conditions  as  well.     It  is  so  with 
prayer,  and  just  here  is  where  so  many 
make  their  mistake.    They  will  read,  for 
instance,   the   Master's   words   in   Mark 
11:24,    "What    things   soever  ye  desire, 
when  ye  pray,  believe  that  ye  receive  them 
and  ye  shall  have  them,"  and  argue  at 
once  that  anything  they  may  feel  they'd 
like  to  have,  they  may  ask  and  receive  if 


180    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

only  they  believe  as  they  pray  that  it  will 
come  to  pass.  But  I  think  we'll  come  to 
see  very  soon  that  this  all  depends  upon 
The  danger  t^c  kind  of  faith  wc  havc,  and 
siin^^one  *^^^  ^^  txnYii  depends  a  good  deal 
Scripture  to    upou  the  character  of  the  re- 

the  ezclu-  ^  p  r^      ^ 

sion  of  quest  we  make  oi  God. 

another.  Supposc    for    a    moment    it 

were  true  that  God  gives  His  people  every 
thing  they  ask  so  long  as  they  make  them- 
selves think  He  will  do  it.^  To  where 
would  this  lead.?^ 

1.  It  would  simply  keep  God  busy  run- 
ning this  universe  according  to  the  whims 
of  His  shortsighted  children  on  earth.  No 
,  , .     ^  .    matter  what  His  plans  for  the 

Asking  God  ^  ^ 

to  abdicate    general  good  and  His  own  glory 
God  must  practically  step  down 
from  His  throne  and  permit  man  to  be- 
come the  ruler  in  His  stead. 

2.  It  would  involve  us  and  those  for 
whom  we  pray  in  untold  ruin.  What  does 
Ecclesiastes  6: 12  say.^  "For  who  know- 
eth  what  is  good  for  man  in  this  life.^" 
You  will  remember  that  Jesus  said  to  a 


Praying  According  to  ihe  Will  of  God  181 

very  ambitious  woman  in  Matthew  20 :  22, 
**Ye  know  not  what  ye  ask."  How  often 
that  is  true.  What  was  it  we  read  in  Rom- 
ans 8:2Q?  "We  know  not  how  to  pray  as 
we  ought."    Some  poet  has  said: 

'We,  ignorant  of  ourselves,  often  beg  our  own 

harm, 
Which  the  wise  powers  for  our  good  deny. 
And  so    we  find  profit  in    the   losing  of   our 

prayers." 

How  glad  we  ought  to  be  that  this  is  so. 
Here  is  a  father  who  has  in  his  hand  a 
bottle  of  aconite,  and  his  little  geggmg  God 
boy,  for  whom  bottles  have  a  *or  our  own 

.  .  injury. 

peculiar  fascination,  pleads 
with  him  earnestly  to  give  it  to  him.  And 
so  we  often  go  to  God  for  things  which  if 
granted  would  prove  quite  as  injurious  to 
us  as  the  deadly  drug  would  have  been  to 
the  child  had  the  father  thoughtlessly 
granted  the  little  one  his  request. 

3.  Such  a  conception  of  prayer  is  self- 
contradictory.  It  makes  it  utterly  im- 
possible for  God  at  times  to  answer  prayer 


182    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

at  all.     Suppose  two  opposing  petitions 

should  go  up  to  God,  as  they 

SrSiWe      did   from    the   South   and   the 

lor  God  to     North    durinsj    the    Rebellion? 

answer.  ^  o 

What  is  God  to  do?  Suppose 
one  man  desires  rain  for  the  benefit  of  his 
particular  crop;  another  man  living  in  the 
same  community  is  raising  such  things  as 
at  that  particular  time  are  in  need  of  dry 
weather,  and  he  sends  up  his  petition  ac- 
cordingly? Do  you  think  any  statement 
in  this  Word  when  rightly  interpreted 
could  land  God  in  any  such  embarrass- 
ment as  the  theory  of  prayer  now  in  ques- 
tion necessarily  involves? 

4.  Such  a  conception  of  prayer  would 
be  destructive  of  Christian  character. 
Have  you  ever  heard  of  children  being 
spoiled  by  their  parents  giving  them 
everything  they  wanted?  If  you  will 
„  ^    thin^  a  moment  you  will  see 

The  spoiled  ^  «/ 

chiTdren  of     that    Dossibly    somcthiuff    not 

carelessly  . 

indulgent      vcry  different  from  that  might 
parents.         |^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^  were  the  heavenly 

Father   as    carelessly   indulgent    in    this 


Praying  According  to  the  Will  of  God  183 

respect  as  are  some  of  the  fathers  of  this 
earth. 

5.  And,  lastly,  such  a  theory  does  not 
stand  the  test  of  experience.    Here  a  circle 
of  friends  pray  with  all  faith  as  Experience 
best  they  can,  but  the  woman  fatal  to 

^  ,       ,    the  theory. 

whose  health  they  have  desired 
does  not  survive.    Here  is  a  nation  praying 
for  the  life  of  its  wounded  president,  but 
the  president  does  not  live. 

But,  some  one  asks.  Is  not  the  promise 
in  Mark  11 :  24  an  unqualified  one.?  Yes, 
we  answer,  but  within  the  limits  that  are 
well  understood  to  exist  between  the  two 
contracting:  parties.  Here  is  a  man  with  a 
well-deliu».d  p-rn'  for  a  house.  He  turns 
the  work  over  to  the  coniractA-r  „,^ 

The  mcoa- 

with  a  promise  to  supplv  what-  sistency 

,     ^    .    ,  Vr  "  Illustrated. 

ever  he  might  want.  Very  soon 
there  comes  a  request  for  an  extra  sih^]*}.- 
of  material  to  erect  p  few  torvers  whic::  in 
the  opinio^;  ji  the  contractor  would  very 
much  beautify  the  building.  Here  is  a 
father  Avho  has  a  plan  for  his  boy's  future. 
He  sends  him  to  college,  saying,  "Send  to 


184    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

me  for  whatever  you  want  and  you  shall 
receive  it."  In  a  few  months  the  boy  sends 
home  for  an  extra  supply  of  cash  for  cer- 
tain side  issues  of  questionable  propriety. 
Each  of  these  requests  are  properly  de- 
nied. "But,"  says  each  of  the  petitioners, 
"was  not  the  promise  unqualified?" 
"Yes,"  comes  the  reply,  "unqualified 
within  the  limits  which  the  very  circum- 
stance of  the  promise  made  evident  as 
existing  between  us." 

So  God  has  a  plan  for  the  universe  look- 
ing toward  the  advancement  of  His  king- 
dom, and  doubtless  a  plan  for  the  life  of 
each  of  His  children,  and  any  promise  He 
might  make  must  be  cop^f'-ji^j  In  har- 
mony wiin  the  well-understood 
hirmony  limitation  as  necessarily  implied 
^^^  V^^  .    ^^-  the  existing:  relations  l^etween 

will  of  OoO.  ^  o 

Hi'  i^rselves.    And  what 

is  that  limitat  uiii  It  is>  that  our  petition 
be  not  contrary  to  His  o'^m  all-wise  and 
benevolent  will.  This  is  exactiv  w^at  He 
has  told  us.  "And  this  is  the  confidence 
we  have  in  Him,  that  if  we  ask  anything 


Praying  According  to  the  Will  of  God  185 

according  to  His  will,  He  heareth  us,  and 
if  we  know  that  He  hears  us,  whatsoever 
we  ask,  we  know  that  we  have  the  petition 
we  desired  of  Him.'* 

Prayer  according  to  the  will  of  God. 
So  Jesus  prayed.  Listen,  as  He  prays  in 
the  Garden,  *'Thy  will,  O  God,  and  not 
mine,  be  done."  But  did  you  ever  notice 
that  Jesus  in  that  remarkable  prayer  for 
those  whom  God  had  given  Him,  the  high- 
priestly  prayer  of  John  17,  using  exactly 
the  same  word  in  the  original,  says,  "I 
will,"  but  here  in  the  Garden  it  is  "not  as 
I  will."  There  must  be  a  difference,  and 
I  think  it  is  just  this  difference  that  will 
reveal  to  us  the  right  rule  for  prayer.  Had 
Jesus  been  absolutely  certain  that  the  cup 
could  not  pass  away,  assuredly  He  would 
not  have  made  the  petition.  This  we 
must  concede  if  the  petition  is  to  have  any 
real  meaning  at  all  so  far  as 
Jesus  is  concerned.  We  are,  of  jesus^*^ 
course,  face  to  face  in  Geth-  ^^*?^!^Jl„„„ 

'  Getusemane. 

semane  with  the  deep  mystery 

of  his  two  natures.    It  is  evident,  however, , 


186    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

that  He  was  acquainted  with  the  Father's 
plan  in  which  He  was  even  then  taking 
such  an  agonizing  part.  But  it  is  equally 
evident  that  He  was  not  altogether  certain 
of  what  the  Father  under  the  circum- 
stances might  think  necessary  or  best  to 
do  concerning  the  desire  which  He  three 
times  expressed  with  his  agonizing,  "if  it 
be  possible."  This  appeal  was  not  the 
blind  outcry  of  a  despairing  soul. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  when  Jesus 
prayed  for  His  disciples  and  for  us  as  re- 
corded by  John,  His  Father's  thought  con- 
cerning the  matter  was  as  clear  in  the 
mind  of  Jesus  as  it  was  in  the  mind  of  God 
and  certain  that  what  He  prayed  for  was 
for  His  Father's  glory.  He  makes  known 
His  desire  in  terms  of  His  own  will  be- 
™^    .  ,^      cause  He  knew  His  will  to  be  in 

The  decid- 
ing element   harmouy  with  the  will  of  God. 

kinds  of  And  just  here  is  the  secret  of 
petition.  prayer.  In  some  things  we  may 
not  know  the  Father's  mind;  we  may  not 
know  the  Father's  will,  and  for  these  we 
only  pray  acceptably  when  we  add  the 


Fraying  According  to  the  Will  of  God  187 

**nevertheless"  of  Gethsemane,  as  Jesus 
did.  But  in  other  matters  we  may  know 
His  will,  and  when  we  do,  we  too  can  pray 
as  Jesus  prayed  and  say,  "I  will,"  because 
we  know  our  wills  to  be  in  harmony  with 
His  and  we  have  simply  to  count  the  an- 
swer sure  and  thank  Him  for  it. 

But,  you  say,  this  is  rather  a  bold  atti- 
tude to  take  in  prayer.  But  what  did  John 
say.?  "This  is  the  confidence,"  and  that 
word  "confidence"  really  means  "bold- 
ness," that  we  have  in  Him  that  if  we  ask 
anything  according  to  His  will.  He  heareth 
us,  and  in  His  hearing  is  involved  His 
answering.    John's  Epistle  tells  us  so. 

But  just  here  is  the  difficulty.    So  many 
complain  they  do  not  know  when  their 
desires  are  in  harmony  ..with  the  will  of 
God,  and  so  cannot  pray  with  any  appre- 
ciable degree  of  assurance.     But  if  any 
portion  of  God's  will  has  ever  ^.^^ 
been  or  ever  is  revealed  the  fault  i  ^now  the 
must  be  with  us  if  we  do  not 
find  it  out.     If  we  did  but  give  serious 
attention  to  what  He  has  said  and  did  but 


188  Hoio  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

allow  ourselves  to  be  kept  in  condition  to 
understand  when  He  speaks  we  might  not 
always  be  without  the  knowledge  we 
would  like  so  much  to  have. 

How,  then,  may  I  know  the  will  of  God? 

1.  I  may  know  it  through  the  Word  of 
God.  The  Word  is  full  of  general  prom- 
ises which  we  have  only  to  apply  to  the 
particular  circumstance  of  our  own  life  in 
order  to  ask  within  the  limits  of  the  re- 
vealed will  of  God.  Such  are  the  general 
promises  of  deliverance  and  protection 
and  provision,  and  if  the  special  favor  we 
crave  be  so  covered  by  the  Word,  what 
better  guarantee  of  its  bestowal  could  we 
reasonably  expect.'^ 

But,  to  be  a  little  more  specific:  Read 
1  Cor.  10: 13,  "There  hath  no  temptation 
taken  you  but  such  as  man  can 
God  revealed  bear;  but  God  is  faithful,  who 
S  (^oV^"'*^  ^^  ^^^  suffer  you  to  be  tempted 
above  that  ye  are  able;  but  will 
with  the  temptation  make  also  the  way  of 
escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  endure  it." 
Here  it  is  plainly  revealed  that  it  is  His 


Praying  According  to  the  Will  oj  God  189 

will  that  we  should  not  yield  to  temptation 
and  a  promise  is  given  of  grace  sufficient 
to  overcome.  In  such  an  hour,  therefore, 
when  we  pray  for  strength  what  need  have 
we  to  say,  "If  it  be  Thy  will"?  Read 
James  1:5,  *'But  if  any  of  you  lacketh 
wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God  who  giveth  to 
all  liberally  and  upbraideth  not;  and  it 
shall  be  given  him."  In  any  emergency, 
therefore,  we  may  virtually  make  our 
prayer  for  wisdom  an  expression  of  our 
own  will  because  that  will  we  know  is  the 
will  of  God.  Read  1  John  5: 16,  "If  any 
man  see  his  brother  sinning  a  sin  not  unto 
death,  he  shall  ask  and  God  will  give  him 
life."  Here  is  a  promise;  and  who  would 
think  of  praying,  "Oh,  God,  save  my 
child ;  nevertheless,  if  it  be  Thy  will  that 
he  be  lost  forever  in  hell.  Thy  will,  O  God, 
and  not  mine,  be  done."  The  very 
thought  of  such  a  prayer  is  re- 
pulsive; it  would  be  a  slander  fj*^®''°'^ 

r  '  ^  ^         the  unsaved. 

against  God  and  is  utterly  in- 
conceivable   from    the    pages    of    God's 
Word.    Where  is  it  said  that  "the  Lord  is 


190    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but 
that  all  should  come  to  repentance" !  and 
so  far  as  God  is  concerned,  when  you  pray 
for  the  salvation  of  an  unsaved  soul  you 
may  and  you  ought  to  throw  your  *'ifs"  to 
the  wind.  Other  promises  might  be 
quoted.  He  has  promised  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  them  that  ask  Him.  He  has  bidden  us 
"be  filled  with  the  Spirit,"  and  to  pray  for 
such  blessings  with  an  "if"  in  our  petition 
is  to  distrust  God  and  to  dishonor  Him. 
It  is  not  always  submission  but  absolute, 
unwavering  expectation  that  honors  God 
when  we  pray. 

On  the  other  hand,  so  far  as  the  testi- 
mony of  God's  Word  goes,  it  has  not  been 
revealed  that  it  is  best  for  us  or  our  dear 
ones  to  remain  in  unimpaired  health  or  to 
be  spared  from  death,  and 
the^sick"'  therefore,  unless  there  be  some 
revelation  above  and  beyond 
the  Word,  we  only  pray  acceptably  for 
such  favors  when  we  say,  *'Thy  will,  O 
God,  not  mine,  be  done."  Not  knowing 
what  is  best,  it  is  our  duty  to  leave  it  to 


Praying  According  to  the  Will  of  God  191 

Him  to  give  or  to  withhold  as  He  sees  best, 
knowing,  as  we  do,  that  all  things  work 
together  for  good  to  them  that  love  the 
Lord. 

2.  Again,  we  may  often  discern  the  will 
of  (jrod  by  the  indications  of  divine  provi- 
dence. Jesus  told  the  Jews  that  they 
might  have  known  the  will  of  God  had 
they  studied  as  studiously  the  signs  of  the 
times  as  they  did  the  signs  of  the  weather. 
Oftentimes,  when  in  perplexity  over  some 
contemplated  undertaking,  the  spiritually 
minded  one  needs  but  closely  observe  the 
providential  arrangement  of  ^^^  ^^ 
circumstances  and  occurrence  o*  God 
of  events  in  order  to  become  through 
reasonably  sure  of  the  Father's  ^^°'^^^^^^- 
mind  concerning  the  matter  in  question. 
This  is  what  the  Quakers  mean  when  they 
talk  about  *'the  way  opening."  If  events 
seem  to  be  so  arranging  themselves  as  to 
"open  the  way"  for  the  answer  to  come, 
it  is  but  a  sign  they  declare  that  the  leading 
is  of  God  and  faith  ought  to  grow  strong. 
Those  who  have  read  the  history  of  the 


192    How  Can  God  Aiiswer  Prayer? 

founding  of  George  MuUer's  orphanages 
will  understand  what  is  meant  by  what 
has  just  been  said.  Some  helpful  instruc- 
tion concerning  this  important  matter  is 
found  in  the  little  leaflet,  *'How  I  Ascer- 
tain the  Will  of  God,"  written  by  this 
same  giant  in  prayer  who  prayed  so  much 
wealth  and  such  a  marvelous  work  into 
existence. 

3.  And  now,  once  more  and  lastly,  we 

are  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  God's 

will  by  the  help  of  the  Holy  Spirit.     We 

saw  in  our  study  of  Romans  8:26,  that 

»,    .    whatever    else    that    Scripture 

The  will  of  ^  i^ 

God  and  the  taught,  it  was  made  plain  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  prays  with  us 
and  through  us  and  draws  out  our  prayers 
in  the  line  of  God's  will.  "We  know  not 
what  to  pray  for  as  we  ought,"  but  "The 
Spirit  helpeth  our  infirmity."  In  some 
way  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  has  to  do 
with  the  human  mind.  His  influence  is 
on  the  understanding  as  well  as  on  the 
heart.  "The  Paraclete,"  said  Jesus,  "shall 
teach  you  all  things  and  bring  all  things 


Praying  According  to  the  Will  of  God  193 

to  your  remembrance,  whatsoever  I  have 
said  unto  you." 

It  has  been  the  experience  and  testi- 
mony of  more  than  one  of  God's  saints 
that  he  has  found  himself  strangely  and 
strongly  drawn  out  to  desire  some  certain 
thing,  and  that  when  he  was  certain  within 
himself  that  his  own  will  in  the  matter  had 
been  put  away,  he  felt  deep  within  his  soul 
a  strong  and  increasingly  stronger  convic- 
tion that  the  blessing  in  question  was 
God's  desire  for  him.  It  is  Macgregor 
who  says,  *'If  we  are  under  the  Spirit's 
control,  obedient  to  His  voice  and  atten- 
tive to  hear  it.  He  will  whisper  to  us  what 
our  Father's  purpose  for  us  is,  and  lead  us 
to  pray  for  things  which  are  according  to 
His  will."  And  so  the  Spirit  makes  known 
the  mind  of  God;  and  what  other  oUght 
one  to  do  under  such  circumstances  than 
to  honor  the  Spirit  by  asking  with  bold- 
ness according  to  the  promise  given  to  us 
in  the  Epistle  of  John.? 

It  is  here,  however,  that  a  word  of  cau- 
tion is  needed.     Some  are  indeed  of  the 


194    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

opinion  that  it  is  "through  the  "Word  and 
the  Word  alone"  that  the  Spirit  leads  to  a 
Near  the  knowledge  of  the  Father's  will, 
border  line     While  we  know  \h.aiHis  leading 

of  danger.        .  J  j7       rr/       7 

IS  never  away  from  the  Word, 
we  are  not  prepared  to  assert  that  it  is  in 
no  instance  independent  of  it,  only  we  call 
attention  most  emphatically  to  the  need  of 
being  ruled  by  a  wise  caution  lest  depend- 
ing wholly  upon  the  "inward  light"  we  be 
led  by  human  fancy  and  one's  own  feeling, 
and  not  by  the  authority  of  God.  While 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  great  Teacher,  the 
Bible  is  the  great  lesson  book,  and  we  do 
not  hesitate  to  affirm  that  His  usual 
method  of  "guiding  us  into  all  truth"  is  by 
applying  the  Word  of  God  to  our  hearts, 
and  no  sort  of  supposed  personal  inspira- 
tion can  ever  warrant  us  in  neglecting  the 
written  Word  if  we  would  know  which 
way  God  would  have  us  go  and  what 
things  He  would  have  us  ask  or  do. 

The  Word  and  the  Spirit — to  deliber- 
ately separate  them  often,  if  not  always, 
leads  to  error  and  fanaticism.    The  Spirit 


Praying  According  to  the  Will  of  God  195 

without  the  Word — ^what  false  mysticism, 
what  folly  and  sin  have  in  the  past  been 
traceable  to  the  theology,  un-  Mysticism, 

,1  p     ,1  •■     •        fanaticism 

worthy  oi  the  name  as  it  is,  and  false 
advocating  their  divorce.  On  rationalism. 
the  other  hand,  the  Word  without  the 
Spirit — to  thus  study  it  alone  by  the  light 
of  our  own  mental  tapers  is  to  be  rewarded 
only  by  cold  and  barren  conclusions  full 
of  false  rationalism  and  untruth.  But 
what  a  light  is  the  Spirit  on  the  Word ! 
Even  the  promises  which  are  so  plainly 
written  and  which  all  may  read  and  study 
can  only  be  revealed  to  the  soul  in  the  full 
glory  of  their  meaning  by  the  Spirit  of 
God;  but,  furthermore,  how  often  has  it 
been  true  that  some  Spirit-filled  child  of 
God,  when  waiting  in  some  season  of 
prayer  and  meditation,  has  been  surprised 
at  his  own  previous  ignorance  as  the  Spirit 
has  revealed  a  new  richness  of  some  famil- 
iar promise  or  applied  to  the  special  cir- 
cumstance before  him  some  declaration 
which  otherwise  he  would  never  have 
dreamed  could  have  any  such  connection 


196    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

with  the  matter  that  lay  upon  his  heart. 
..,^.   o  ,-44.      There  are  countless  things  we 

The  Spirit  ^  ^  o     ^ 

Illumining  oft  desire  for  which  no  specific 
promise  is  found  in  the  Word 
of  God,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  hard 
to  imagine  a  want  that  God  could  at  all 
be  willing  to  grant  (sinful,  selfish  desires 
are  of  course  excluded)  that  may  not  be 
covered  by  some  general  promise  which  it 
is  the  Spirit's  work  to  discover  to  us  and 
apply  to  the  particular  object  engaging 
our  petition. 

The  same  caution  is  needed  in  our  seek- 
ing to  read  aright  the  providential  order- 
ing of  circumstances.  Indeed,  to  depend 
upon  any  one  of  the  three  named  methods 
to  the  exclusion  of  the  others  is  to  leave 
oneself  open  to  the  liability,  if  not  the 
likelihood,  of  conviction  other  than  that 
which  comes  from  God,  but  one  who  is 
earnestly  seeking  to  know  the  mind  of  God 
will  give  himself  carefully  and  devotedly 
to  them  all,  and  that  one  God  will  cer- 
tainly lead  to  the  knowledge  he  so  much 
desires  to  have. 


PRAYING  IN  FAITH 

*' Whatsoever  things  ye  desire  when  ye  pray,  be- 
lieve that  ye  have  received  them  and  ye  shall  have 
them."— M.ABK  11:24. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  say  a  word 
about  the  remaining  condition  of  prevail- 
ing prayer.  It  is  Faith.  It  may  be  God's 
pleasure  to  give;  it  may  be  His  will  to  give; 
anl  yet,  not  until  we  believe  He  is  going 
to  give  will  His  pleasure  or  His 
will  bring  to  us  the  thing  we  cohdition. 
have  desired  of  Him.  Some 
people  make  a  mistake  here.  They  think 
that  whatever  God  wills  for  us  must,  of 
course,  come  to  pass.  But  this  is  by  no 
means  true.  For  example,  "This  is  God's 
will,  even  your  sanctification,"  but  has 
this  come  to  pass  fully  in  your  life.?  Alas, 
that  so  many  of  us  should  fall  so  far  short 
of  what  God  in  His  goodness  wills  for  us. 
Though  His  will  be  revealed,  only  so  much 
197 


198    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

will  be  fulfilled  as  our  faith  accepts.  God 
may,  in  His  Word,  or  in  His  providence, 
or  by  His  Spirit,  reveal  His  will  for  us,  but 
the  responsibility  for  realizing  that  will  in 
our  own  experience  rests  with  our  own 
will. 

This  answers,  at  least  partially,  the  old 
question,  "Does  not  prayer  influence 
God?"  It  does  influence  His  action,  even 
though  it  be  granted,  for  the  present,  that 
it  does  not  influence  His  will  or  purpose 
which  are  embodied  in  the  love  plan  He 
has  thought  out  for  every  one  of  His  chil- 
dren. God  proposes  to  give,  but  what  He 
^  ^,  would  have  given  is  withheld, 

God's  ^  o  » 

thought  and  if  you  would  know  why, 
always  you  havc  Only  to  ask  Him  to 

realized.  hear  Him  say,  as  He  once  did 
to  some  other  crushed  and  defeated  dis- 
ciples, "because  of  your  unbelief."  Speak- 
ing about  one  of  our  needs,  which  every 
one  must,  at  times,  more  or  less  feel,  James 
says  that  the  one  conscious  of  his  need 
shall  "Ask  of  God  who  giveth  liberally  . . . 
and  it  shall  be  given  him,"  but  He  says. 


Praying  in  Faith  199 

"Let  him  ask  in  faith,  nothing  wavering, 
for  he  that  wavereth  is  Hke  a  wave  of  the 
sea,  driven  and  tossed  with  the  wind;  for 
let  not  that  man  think  that  he  shall  re- 
ceive anything  of  the  Lord."  Were  it 
possible  that  every  other  condition  of 
prayer  could  be  fulfilled  and  faith  be  lack- 
ing, the  petition  would  be  only  words, 
vain  and  unavailing,  which,  for  reasons 
not  hard  to  discover,  are  painful  enough 
to  the  great  heart  of  the  Father,  and  which 
it  would  have  been  better  never  to  have 
bten  uttered. 

Faith  is  the  hand  that  takes,  and  all 
God's  best  thought  for  you  and  me  is  ac- 
tualized in  our  experience  only  through  a 
confidence  in  God  which  counts  a  thing 
done  before  it  really  takes  place.     With 
what  nicety  the  Revised  Version  opens  up 
the  deeper  meaning  of  Mark  11:24,  so 
long  lost  to  the  English  reader. 
It     has     usually     been     read,  m^tue 
*' Whatsoever  things  ye  desire,  yg^fo^. 
when  you  pray,  believe  that  ye 
receive  them  and  you  shall  have  them," 


200    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

but  the  "ye  receive"  of  the  older  transla- 
tion is  now  correctly  made  to  read,  "ye 
have  received."  It  is  the  business  of  faith 
to  believe  that  the  answer  has  already 
been  given  by  God  in  Heaven  before  it  is 
received  or  felt  on  earth.  Rather  search- 
ing, isn't  it.^  And  presumptuous,  did  you 
say.^  No,  child,  not  that,  but  blessed  is 
the  man  who  so  believes  in  God  and  un- 
derstands the  might  of  God,  that  he 
accepts  by  faith  the  yet  unseen  and  unre- 
ceived,  and  thanks  the  Giver  for  what  he 
knows  "he  shall  receive." 

Faith  is  the  key  to  the  Father's  store- 
house. Rather  annoying,  isn't  it,  to  twist 
and  turn  with  a  key  that  will  not  work.^^ 
But  the  lock  is  perfect,  the  bear- 
enter  the  ings  all  in  order,  and  if  Faith  is 
of  God's  of  the  right  quality  and  then 
abundance,    ^^jj  tempered,  the  door  will  not 

be  hard  to  open. 

So  necessary  was  it  and  is  it  for  men  to 
see  this  that  it  stands  out  with  chiefest 
prominence  in  all  the  teachings  of  Jesus. 
Had  Jesus  done  the  writing  Himself  I 


Praying  in  Faith  201 

think  he  would  have  underscored  the  word 
with  a  double  line  of  deepest  black.  Did 
He  run  the  press,  it  might  be  with  raised 
letters  He  would  burn  this  truth  into  our 
minds.  "All  things  are  possible  to  him 
that  believeth"  (Mark  9:23),  He  said  to 
the  father  of  the  afflicted  child  when  the 
disciples  through  lack  of  faith  could  do 
nothing.  *'A11  things,"  He  said.  Puts  it 
rather  strongly,  doesn't  He.?  These  little 
hearts  of  ours  can  scarcely  take  it  in,  but 
that  is  what  He  said.  He  wants  us  to  see 
hovv  really  omnipotent  Faith  is,  and  that 
the  disciples  who  stood  rebuked  in  the 
presence  of  their  humiliating  failure  might 
be   assured   that   He   was   not  , 

Jesus 

speaking      with      unmeasured  emphasizing 

1        TT      ■       1  '11  *^®  omnip- 

words.  He  took  as  an  illustra-  otency 
tion  the  unlikeliest  thing  that  °*  '*"^' 
might  occur — a  mountain  slipping  away 
and  tumbling  off  into  the  sea.  If  you  are 
looking  for  a  good  personification  of  faith, 
you  must  not  stop  at  Hercules.  Faith  is 
almightiness.  "If  you  have  faith,  nothing 
shall  be  impossible  to  you." 


202   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

"Faith  does  not  doubting  ask,  *Can  this  be  so?' 
The  Lord  hath  said  it  and  there  needs  no  more." 
Is  it  hard  to  see  why  faith  is  so  essential? 
Surely,  it  cannot  be.  Prayer  without  faith 
is  self-contradictory.  What  sort  of  an 
insult  is  it  to  a  man  to  approach  him  for 
a  favor  and  at  the  same  time  tell  him  you 
have  no  faith  whatsoever  that  he  will  give 
you  what  you  ask.^  And  why  mock  God 
in  a  way  like  that  and  at  the  same  time 
stultify  ourselves  and  treat  with  such  utter 
contempt  the  power  we  might  have  with 
Him  who  "supplieth  all  our  need  accord- 
ing to  His  riches  in  glory  by  Christ  Jesus  .^" 
Now,  when  Jesus  says,  "Whatsoever 
things  ye  desire,  when  ye  pray,  believe 
that  ye  receive  them  and  ye  have  received 
them,"  it  is  clear  that  we  are  to  believe 
\that  we  shall  receive  the  very  thing  we  ask. 
But,  of  course,  faith  that  a  thing  shall  be 
j^  given  implies  faith  in  the  per- 
God's  person  sou  from  whom  we  expect  it. 
in  His  You  cannot  believe  in  a  man's 

promise.        promise    until    you    first     be- 
lieve in  the  man  himself.     And  for   this 


Praying  in  Faith  203 

reason  Jesus,  just  before  He  made  that 
wonderful  prayer  promise,  first  said, 
*'Have  faith  in  God."  "He  that  cometh 
to  God  must  believe  that  He  is  and  that 
He  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently 
seek  Him."  We  must  believe  in  God  as 
a  living,  mighty,  loving  God.  We  must 
have  faith  in  His  power — that  He  can  do 
whatsoever  He  wills  to  do.  We  must 
have  faith  in  His  love — that  it  is  His  de- 
light to  bless ;  that  He  would  like  to  give 
us  all  we  ask,  and  that  He  is  willing  to 
give  us  whatsoever  is  best  for  us  to  have. 

Yet  the  Faith  we  are  thinking  about 
now  goes  beyond  even  this.  We  are  not 
only  to  believe  that  God  can  but  that  He 
will  and  that  He  will  give  us  the  'particu- 
lar thing  we  ask. 

Andrew  Murray  ("With  Christ  in  the 
School  of  Prayer,"  page  81)  calls  attention 
to  a  distinction  between  what  ^^^  ..prayer 
he  calls  the  "Prayer  of  Faith"  of  Faith- 
and  the  "Prayer  of  Trust.  "The  "prayer  of 
Prayer  of  Trust,  he  says,  has 
reference  to  things   of  which  we  cannot 


204   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer  ? 

find  out  if  God  is  going  to  give  them.  As 
children  we  make  known  our  desires  in 
the  countless  things  of  daily  life,  and  leave 
it  to  the  Father  to  give  or  not,  as  He  thinks 
best;  but  "The  Prayer  of  Faith,"  he  says, 
"of  which  Jesus  speaks  is  something 
different,  something  higher,  having  taken 
its  stand  on  some  promise  of  God  it  knows 
that  it  will  receive  exactly  what  it  asks.'* 
Now  we  are  prepared  to  see  the  force  of 
the  statement  made  at  the  beginning. 
Though  you  know  the  will  of  God,  you 
cannot  without  faith  pray  with  any  assur- 
ance that  it  will  be  done  for  you. 

So  far  all  is  clear,  but  now  we  have 
come  to  a  place  where  every  one  is  not 
quite  of  the  same  opinion. 

Know  the  will  of  God ;  believe  when  you 
pray  and  the  answer  is  sure.  No  difficulty 
Is  faith  about  that.  But  here  is  a  ques- 
possibie         tion  that  is  as  practical  as  it  is 

when  the  „         .  .  ^ 

will  of  God    lascmatmg.    Suppose  you  have 

is  unknown?  .    i  i,i       i.       j*  .i 

not  been  able  to  discover  the 
will  of  God  about  a  certain  thing;  is  it 
possible  to  pray  with  any  faith  that  this 


Praying  in  Faith  205 

particular  thing  will  be  granted?  It  is  no 
use  to  answer,  as  some  have  done,  by  say- 
ing, "If  you  are  the  right  kind  of  a  Chris- 
tian and  are  praying  in  the  Spirit  you  will 
know  what  is  the  will  of  God  concerning 
any  matter." 

Such  an  answer  is  not  satisfactory  for 
two  reasons: 

1.  When  there  is  no  absolutely  clear 
and  definite  promise  in  the  Word  upon 
which  to  rest  one's  faith,  we  saw  a  few 
pages  further  back  that  one  might  be  so 
strongly  inclined  to  believe  that  he  knew 
God's  will  from  what  he  thought  was  the 
leadings  of  God's  Spirit  and  of  providence 
as  to  be  fully  satisfied  in  his  own  mind 
about  it  and  yet  discover  in  the  end  that 
all  the  while  he  had  been  mistaken.  This 
is  true  not  only  of  those  whose 
peculiar  religious  notions,  de-  I^^^^^H^ 
rived,  as  they  claim,  from  divine  christians 

,      .  ,  ,  ,        sometimes 

revelation,  lay  them  open  to  the  mistaken 

•  ,•    •  J  ,•  •■         i?    about  God's 

criticism  and  sometimes  pity  oi  ,^^1, 

sober-minded  people,  but  just 

as    true    oftentimes    of    the    most    sane 


206   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

and  devoted  Christian.  Here  is  a  man 
well  known  to  the  writer,  a  man  of  the 
highest  spiritual  attainment.  His  child,  a 
lad  of  six,  is  near  death's  door.  Through 
the  Spirit,  he  told  me,  he  was  so  power- 
fully impressed  that  it  was  God's  will  the 
child  should  live  that  he  rested  his  faith  on 
this  assurance  and  prayed  and  his  child 
recovered.  For  years  he  used  this,  and 
honestly,  as  an  illustration  that  it  was  our 
privilege  to  be  absolutely  sure  of  God's 
will  through  the  voice  of  His  Spirit  and  so 
pray  with  faith.  A  few  years  later  and  the 
child  was  again  at  the  point  of  death. 
Again  he  received  the  assurance  of  his 
recovery  in  the  same  way,  and  again  he 
prayed  with  faith  that  his  child  would  live, 
but  the  child  did  not  live. 

2.  It  is  often  true  when  the  thing  is  not 
definitely  promised  in  the  Word,  that  the 
The  most  ^lost  spiritually-mindcd  and 
spiritual        trulv-devotcd  Christian  cannot 

often  per-  .   „     .  .  ,„  i         •       i 

piexed  about  satisiy  liimseli  as  to  what  is  the 

God's  Will.       ^jjj  ^f    (.  ^^    ^^^^^   j^^  ^^^    j^  jg 

hardly  kind  or  necessary  to  find  fault  with 


Praying  in  Faith  207 

his  life  and  Christian  attainment  because 
this  is  so.  Andrew  Murray,  speaking  of 
the  prayer  of  trust,  says  it  has  reference  to 
"things  of  which  we  cannot  find  out 
whether  God  is  going  to  give  them,"  and, 
after  all,  I  wonder  if  it  is  not  true  that 
where  there  is  no  specific  promise  in  the 
Word  to  cover  the  thing  desired — I  won- 
der, even  though  the  leadings  of  provi- 
dence seem  to  be  plain  and  the  voice  of 
the  Spirit  distinct,  if  we  must  not  leave  a 
little  room  at  least  for  an  equation  of  un- 
certainty. I  think  so.  And  a  rule  that 
will  not  work  down  among  the  finer  dis- 
tinctions cannot  consistently  be  used  in 
solving  the  problem  in  general. 

Now,  what  about  the  two  conditions  of 
mind  just  mentioned.'^ 

In  the  first  case,  the  man  was  convinced 
that  it  was  God's  plan  for  him  that  he 
should  have  the  thing  he  desired.  He  was 
mistaken,    but    his    conviction  „^   , 

'^  The  lessons 

was  genuine,  and  so,  of  course,  o'  mistaken 

there  w^as  just  as  much  room  for 

faith  as  if  he  had  rightly  interpreted  the  will 


208   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

of  God.  Was  his  faith  genuine?  Cer- 
tainly, only  it  was  resting  on  a  false  hope. 
(The  faith  of  a  heathen  in  his  idol  is  just 
as  genuine  per  se  as  the  faith  of  a  Christian 
in  his  God.)  When,  in  the  end,  the  Chris- 
tian finds  his  petition  denied,  he  will  then 
know  that  he  was  asking  for  something 
which  could  not  consistently,  with  the  all- 
wise  and  loving  plan  of  God,  be  granted, 
and  he  will  not  only  have  learned  a  little 
more  of  how  patient  and  careful  one 
should  be  in  the  endeavor  to  discover  the 
will  of  God,  but  he  will  bow  with  reverent 
loving  submission  to  what  he  knows  was 
for  his  Father's  glory  and  his  own  good. 
(Romans  8:28.) 

In  the  second  case,  when  the  Christian 
cannot  satisfy  himself  as  to  what  is  the  will 
of  God,  what  is  to  he  done?  Here  is  where 
so  many  of  us  find  ourselves  in  spite  of 
our  effort  to  meet  every  requirement 
which  comes  from  God.  Here  is  where 
most  Christians  need  help. 

The  question  is,  can  a  Christian  under 
such  circumstances  have  any  faith  that  he 


Praying  in  Faith  209 

will  receive  the  thing  for  which  he  prays? 
The  tendency  is  to  answer,  No.  One  of 
our  leading  religious  instructors  „^ 

o  o  The  ques- 

said,  "You  cannot  have  uncer-  won  stated 
tainty  and  certainty  at  the  same 
time."  Another  said,  "No;  faith  is  not  a 
thing  to  be  pumped  up;  you  cannot  just 
say,  'I  am  going  to  believe,'  and  then  be- 
lieve. Unless  you  have  an  absolute  prom- 
ise, a  clear  revelation  of  God's  will  con- 
cerning the  matter,  you  can  have  no  faith 
regarding  it  whatsoever." 

We  will  not  conceal  the  fact  that  we 
have  wanted  to  say.  Yes,  to  the  above 
question — wanted  to,  because  of  the  help 
we  have  felt  such  an  answer  would  be  to 
the  average  Christian.  For,  if  we  can 
only  pray  with  faith  for  what  we  are  cer- 
tain is  God's  will,  how  few  of  us  can  really 
ever  so  pray,  and  how  very  few  are  the 
things  for  which  even  such  Christians  so 
pray.  Sift  the  matter  carefully  down  and 
see  if  this  is  not  true. 

I  am  going  to  answer.  Yes,  to  the  ques- 
tion, not  for  the  reason  mentioned,  how- 


210   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

ever,  which  would  be  no  reason  at  all,  but 
because  I  am  convinced  that  I  can  other- 
wise reasonably  do  so. 

I  am  quite  willing  to  admit  that  without 
an  absolutely  clear  and  definite  revelation 
of  God's  will,  there  cannot  be  an  abso- 
lutely clear  and  unquestioning  faith  in  the 
matter  of  prayer,  and  this  admission,  I 
presume,  makes  us  all  at  one  in  the  ques- 
tion at  hand. 

But  one  may  have  a  conviction,  and  a 

strong  one,  without  an  absolutely  clear 

and  definite  revelation,  and  he 

One  may 

have  faith      may    believe  in    proportion    to 

though  un-        -     '^  7  7        7  p       7 

certain  of  the  Strength  or  depth  of  that 
°  ^  ^  '  conviction.  He  knows  how 
kind  and  good  the  Father  is;  he  has 
studied  carefully  and  waited  on  his  knees 
and  sees  no  reason  why  this  thing  should 
not  be  granted;  he  knows  he  is  unselfish 
in  what  he  asks,  and  thinks  surely  it  will 
glorify  his  God;  and  as  he  waits,  willing 
to  lay  aside  his  petition  the  very  moment 
it  becomes  certain  by  an  absolutely  clear 
and  definite  revelation  that  it  is  not  God's 


Praying  in  Faith  211 

will;  as  he  thus  waits,  there  is  borne  in 
upon  him  from  time  to  time  a  conviction — 
an  impression;  it  never  weakens;  it  in- 
creases and  deepens  the  rather,  and  satis- 
fies him  that  what  he  is  asking  God  is 
going  to  give.  Who  will  say  that  this 
influence  upon  his  soul,  this  impression 
that  has  become  a  conviction  with  him,  is 
not  the  working  of  the  Holy  Spirit  Him- 
self drawing  the  man  out  into  this  very 
prayer  which  subsequent  events  prove  to 
have  been  in  harmony  with  the  will  and 
plan  of  God  for  him? 

Now,  of  this  will  the  man  had  at  no 
time  an  absolutely  unquestioning  certainty 
of  knowledge.  Such  a  clear  revelation 
had  not  been  given  him  and  yet  it  was  his 
privilege  and  duty  to  believe,  to  have  faith 
in  proportion  at  least  to  the  depth  of  the 
conviction  that  came  to  him.  (Study  care- 
fully Matthew  9:2  and  22  and  28;  Mat- 
thew 15 :  28  and  Mark  10 :  50,  and  see  if  it 
was  not  just  this  faith  that  was  exercised 
there.) 

Now,  here  is  a  question :  Did  that  faith 


212    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

do  him  any  good?  Did  it  have  any  value 
in  God's  sight  in  securing  the  desire  of  his 
heart?  Unhesitatingly  we  answer,  Yes. 
And  just  as  unhesitatingly  we  say  that 
without  such  faith  God  might  never  have 
done  for  him  what  He  did  do  because 
such  faith  was  exercised.  (See  page  199.) 
Under  such  circumstances  as  the  above 
I  would  then: 

1.  Put  an  added  petition  in  my  prayer, 
asking  God  to  give  me  increased  light  as 

to  His  will  in  the  matter,  and 
pray  when  give  myself  to  scck  that  light 
uncertain       through  meditation,  the  study 

of  God's  wilL  o  .  "^ 

of  the  Word,  the  observation  of 
providence  and  waiting  on  the  Spirit  of 
God. 

2.  If  God  does  not  show  me  that  the 
request  is  not  according  to  His  will,  keep 
on  praying  for  it  with  faith  as  just  ex- 
plained until  He  does,  and  should  He 
make  it  plainly  known  that  the  thing  is 
NOT  His  will,  then  cease  praying,  humbly 
submit  to  His  will,  and  thank  Him  for  the 
denial;  for  God's  No  in  such  a  case  is 


Praying  in  Faith  213 

better  than  His  Yes.  Do  not,  however, 
cease  praying  unless  the  knowledge  that 
the  request  is  not  according  to  His  will 
be  just  as  clear  and  certain  as  must  be  the 
knowledge  in  the  case  of  a  man  who 
knows  that  he  is  praying  according  to  the 
will  of  God. 

3.  Always  close  such  a  petition  by  say- 
ing from  the  heart,  *'If  it  be  not  Thy  will. 
Thy  will,  O  God,  and  not  mine,  be  done." 

And  is  it  necessary  to  stop  a  bit  just 
now  that  we  may  be  reminded  once  more 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  His  relation  to  the 
faith  we  have  been  talking  about  all  the 
while?    If  no  man  can  call  Jesus  "Lord" 
save  through  the  Spirit,  and  if 
the  faith  that  first  puts  us  in  the  of^faft^h^^' 
right  condition  to  pray  by  mak-  ^°J  *s*irit 
ing  us  children  of  the  heavenly 
Father  is  the  gift  of  God  through  His 
Spirit,  how  plain  it  is  that  He  must  stand 
back  of  every  taking  hold  of  God  for  any- 
thing.     Faith    must   have   some   ground 
upon  which  to  rest.    The  Holy  Spirit  sup- 
plies it.     It  is  the  Holy  Spirit  who  first 


214    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer  ? 

reveals  to  us  our  need.  It  is  the  Holy 
Spirit  who  reveals  to  us  our  God  in  His 
love  and  in  His  power.  It  is  the  Holy 
Spirit  who  reveals  to  us  the  promises  of 
God.  It  is  the  Holy  Spirit  who  draws  us 
out  in  prayer  for  such  things  as  are  pleas- 
ing to  God,  and  the  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit, 
the  source  of  all  spiritual  capacity,  who 
quickens  the  faith  faculty  and  helps  the 
soul  to  believe. 

How  true  it  is,  after  all,  that  without  the 
Holy  Spirit  abiding  in  us  we  can  do 
nothing;  and  just  as  true  it  is  that  without 
Him  abiding  in  fullness  our  prayer  life 
and  our  whole  life  will  be  weak  and  ut- 
terly fail.  Say,  then,  child  of  the  Almighty 
One,  "O  Holy  Spirit,  be  Thou  my  all 
in  alL" 


VI 


TIGHTENING  THE  GRIP 

"And  he  said,  I  will  not  let  thee  go  except  thou 
bless  me." — Gen.  32. 

"Men  ought  always  to  pray,  and  not  to  faint." — 
Luke  11. 

The  last  word  about  "How  to  Pray"  has 
not  yet  been  said.  All  that  has  been  said 
might  be  true,  and  yet  the  answer  some- 
time slips  from  us  because  we  failed  at 
the  last  ditch,  so  to  speak.  Some  one  has 
said,  "Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere  desire." 
It  is,  and  if  it  is,  the  heart  will  not  faint 
at  a  slight  delay  or  at  what  may  seem  the 
indisposition  of  God  to  answer.  Many 
pray  well  up  to  this  point  and  then  utterly 
fail,  and  failing,  lose  all.  Too  many  fail 
to  "pray  through."  If  the  request  is  not 
granted  at  the  first  or  second 
asking,  they  cease  praying  and  and'^S^ 
say,  "Perhaps  it  isn't  God's  f"^,ent°ilted'" 
will,"  and  this  they  call  Sub- 
mission.    Dr.  Torrey  calls  it  "spiritual 

215 


216    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

laziness,"  and  the  Word  implies  as  much 
quite  as  emphatically. 

Let  us  give  our  minds  now  for  a  while 
to  what  is  known  to  us  all  at  least  by  name 
as  Importunity.  No  phase  of  prayer  is 
more  emphasized  in  New  Testament 
teaching  than  this.  In  both  the  Gospels 
and  the  Epistles  it  stands  out  in  clear  re- 
lief. Our  study  would  not  be  complete  if 
this  important  factor  in  prayer  were  omit- 
ted, and  our  own  prayer  life  wiH  never  be 
what  it  ought  to  be  until  we  appreciate  as 
fully  as  possible  God's  thought  in  the 
exceptional  emphasis  He  has  placed  on 
this  quality  in  prayer. 

This  emphasis  reveals  itself  in  two 
ways. 

(1)  In  Illustration.  (2)  In  a  skillful 
choice  of  richly  expressive  words  and 
phrases.  These  words  will  form  a  brief 
and  interesting  study  in  the  following 
chapter.  Let  us  examine  the  illustrations 
now. 

They  are  in  the  form  of  Parables.  Both 
are  furnished  by  Luke.    Luke  is  the  one 


Tightening  the  Grip  217 

who  tells  us  most  about  the  prayer  habit 
of  Jesus.     The  first  illustration  is  that  of 
the  Midnight  Appeal  (Luke  11 :  5-13).    A 
supperless  friend  has   arrived. 
Not  to  have  placed  something  ot^the"*''^* 
before  him  would  have  been  an  J^^^nisJi* 

petitioner. 

unpardonable  breach  of  orien- 
tal courtesy.  And  now  a  most  morti- 
fying situation  presents  itself  in  the 
utter  absence  of  all  provision  from  the 
house.  He  hastens  to  his  neighbor,  makes 
known  his  need,  and  doubtless,  to  his  own 
surprise,  is  gruffly  repulsed.  Although  it 
was  evidently  a  case  of  misplaced  confi- 
dence, a  repulse  was  not  what  he  came 
for,  and  finally,  because  of  his  Importun- 
ity (literally,  impudence ;  shamef acedness) 
his  lazy,  ungenerous  neighbor  got  up  and 
granted  him  what  he  wanted. 

Notice,  this  neighbor  was  the  most  un- 
likely man  to  represent  God.  He  was 
selfish,  ungenerous  and  heartless.  To  do 
what  he  did  is  justly  to  incur  the  contempt 
of  all  good  people.  The  thing  that  moved 
him  to  grant  the  request  was  his  own  self- 


218    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

ishness.  It  looks  as  if,  had  Jesus  done 
His  best,  He  could  not  have  presented  the 
case  any  more  disadvantageously  for  God 
than  He  did.  But  He  outdoes  the  parable 
in  this  respect  by  another.  This  time  it 
is  the  parable  of  the  "Unjust  Judge" 
(Luke  18:1-8). 

A  widow,  whose  trying  position  in  those 
days  is  well  known,  came  to  a  judge,  ask- 

The  arable  ^^^S  ^™  ^^  avcngc  her  or  to  do 
of  the  un-     her  lusticc  in  a  claim  against 

Just  judge.      11  rr«i  J 

ner  adversary.  ine  word 
"came"  in  the  original  means  "kept  com- 
ing." This  judge,  the  parable  says, 
"neither  feared  God  nor  regarded  man," 
and  he  boasted  about  it  too  (vs.  4).  He 
had  neither  piety  nor  pity.  He  was  a  self- 
ish, hardhearted,  unprincipled  man.  As 
a  public  functionary  he  was  unjust;  as  a 
man  he  was  unkind  and  cruel,  and  in  his 
selfish  concern  for  his  own  comfort  he 
said,  "I  will  avenge  her,  lest  by  her  con- 
tinual coming  she  wear  me  out"  (literally, 
beat  my  face  black  and  blue). 

The  immediate  point  of  each  parable  is 


Tightening  the  Grip  219 

that  Importunity  has  a  power  of  annoy- 
ance that  can  gain  its  object  in  the  face  of 
the  greatest  obstacle.  Jesus  is  supposing 
the  case.  Men  sometimes  have  thought 
unkindly  of  God  because  of  what  seemed 
His  indifference  to  their  needs,  and  these 
characters  chosen  are  not  pictures  of  what 
God  is  or  of  what  Jesus  would  have  us 
believe  God  to  be,  but  of  what  even  pious 
people  have  sometimes  thought  Him  to 
be.  Read  the  experience  of  Job  and  the 
77th  Psalm.  *'Very  well,"  said  Jesus,  in 
substance,  "suppose  God  to  be  as  heart- 
less and  as  ungenerous  as  you  seem  to 
fancy  Him  to  be;  pray  on  and  you  shall 
succeed,  for  I  have  shown  you  what  im- 
portunity will  do  even  under  such  circum- 
stances. " 

But  Jesus  did  not  leave  the  illustration 
here.  He  gave  us  something  vastly 
better  than  that.  He  is  really  teaching  by 
contrast,  and  that  contrast  is  this:  If 
an  ungenerous,  indifferent  neighbor,  for 
whom  a  little  fleshly  repose  outweighs  a 
friend's  dire  distress,  could  be  induced  to 


220    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

grant  a  sorely  needed  favor  by  sheer  per- 
sistence that  would  not  brook  a  denial, 
how  much  more  will  God,  whose  love  is  so 
God's  intense  and  whose  chief  delight 

character  'l      •        l  •  u  J      u 

magnified  it  IS  to  givc,  be  movcd  by 
by  contrast,  faithful,  persistcut  entreaty  to 
grant  His  children  what  they  ask.  If  a  de- 
fenseless widow's  persistent  appeal  can 
wring  from  a  hard-hearted,  unscrupulous 
judge  her  heart's  desire,  how  much  more 
will  our  petitions,  if  likewise  faithful, 
secure  the  thing  we  ask  from  God,  who  in 
character  is  the  very  opposite  of  this  God- 
less judge  and  whose  own  dearest  interests 
are  involved  in  ours.  That  this  is  the  real 
point  in  each  of  these  parables  there  can 
be  no  reasonable  doubt,  and  consequently 
when  any  one  asks,  as  people  often  do, 
"Why  is  it  that  I  must  go  so  repeatedly  to 
God  and  so  persist  in  the  request  I  would 
make,  as  if  'His  mercy  were  clean  gone 
forever'  and  He  were  loath  to  give,"  the 
plain  teaching  of  these  parables  must  be 
that  the  difficulty  is  not  with  God  but  with 
ourselves.     If  importunity  in  praying  to 


Tightening  the  Grip  221 

God  presents  to  your  mind  a  diflSculty,  in 
justice  to  the  character  of  God  it  can  be 
resolved  in  no  other  way.  Hence  Jesus 
hastens  in  either  case  to  speak  of  the  real 
character  of  God.  He  says  in  one  in- 
stance, "If  an  evil,  earthly  parent  knows 
how  to  give  good  gifts  to  his  children, 
how  much  more  will  the  Father  in  heaven 
give  good  things  to  His  children  who  ask 
of  Him,"  and  in  the  second  instance,  "And 
shall  not  God  avenge  his  own  elect  which 
cry  day  and  night  unto  him,  and  He  is 
longsuffering  in  their  behalf.'*  That  is, 
"If  an  unrighteous  judge,  how  much  more 
a  God  such  as  the  elect  have." 

Importunity  is  not  a  test  of  God,  but  a 
test  of  you  and  me.  The  difficulty  lies  with 
us;  and  what  is  it.^^   What  other 

,        ,  „        Importunity 

can  it   be  but  our  own  uniit-  a  test  of  the 

,  '1m.  1  J    Christian 

ness  to  receive  what  we  ask  and  and  not  of 
what  He  longs  to  give.^    Impor-  JJ^^^.g^Qo^ 
tunity  is  one  of  the  instructors 
in  God's  training  school  for  Christian  cul- 
ture.   "There  are  secrets  of  love  and  wis- 
dom  in   the  workings   of   the   *Delayed 


222    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer  ? 

Blessings  Department'  which  are  Httle 
dreamt  of,"  but  asking  and  seeking  and 
knocking  patiently  and  persistently  not 
only  secures  the  blessing,  but  discovers  to 
us  the  "secrets"  of  that  "love  and  wisdom" 
in  the  undoubting  faith  and  unfaltering 
trust,  the  enlarged  consciousness  of  our 
utter  helplessness  apart  from  Him,  the 
heart  searching  and  the  surrender  of  all 
that  seemed  to  be  in  the  way,  the  close 
fellowship  with  God — in  a  word,  the 
strengthened  and  ennobled  character  that 
always  comes  from  the  refining  fires  of 
diflBiculty  and  trial.  Don't  read  the  para- 
bles so  hastily  and  you'll  see  it  all  written 
there. 

"Shall  not  God  avenge  his  own  elect, . . . 
though  He  is  long-suffering  over  them.?" 
Why  should  scholars  be  puzzled  here.? 
The  long.  '^^^  English  revised  version 
suflering  of  rcads,  "and  He  is,"  etc.,  but 
this  with  what  goes  before 
makes  an  unwieldy  sentence.  The  Amer- 
ican revised  version  is  better,  "and  yet  He 
is,"   etc.     This   leaves   the   construction 


Tightening  the  Grip  223 

practically  as  in  the  authorized  version, 
*' although  He  is  longsuffering  over  them." 
Over  whom?  the  wicked?  No.  Over 
the  elect;  over  us  who  are  the  children  of 
God.    Literally  it  is  "in  their  behalf." 

Now  look  at  James  5 :  7.  "Behold  the 
husbandman  waiteth  for  the  precious  fruit 
of  the  earth,  being  longsuffering  over  it 
till  it  receive  the  early  and  the  later  rain." 
This  shows  us  what  longsuffering  means; 
that  it  is  for  a  purpose.  Some  one  has 
said,  "Men  would  pluck  their  mercies 
green,  when  the  Lord  would  have  them 
ripe."  We  are  so  like  children,  but  the 
Husbandman  knows  what  proper  devel- 
opment needs.  It  needs  time;  it  needs 
culture;  it  needs  training.  He  is  therefore 
patient,  longsuffering,  until  all  these  ele- 
ments have  poured  their  influence  upon 
the  soul  and  made  it  ripe  to  receive  and 
keep  and  properly  use  what  He  has  long 
planned  to  give  them.  "Longsuffering  in 
our  behalf" — that  exactly  this  may  be  true 
of  you  and  me.  This  is  the  meaning  of 
importunity. 


224    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

''Unanswered  yet?    The  prayer  your  lips  have 
pleaded 

In  agony  of  heart  these  many  years? 
Does  faith  begin  to  fail;  is  hope  departing, 

And  think  you  all  in  vain  those  falling  tears? 
Say  not  the  Father  hath  not  heard  your  prayer; 
You  shall  have  your  desire  sometime,  somewhere. 

''Unanswered  yet?    Though  when  you  first  pre- 
sented 
This  petition  at  the  Father's  throne. 
It  seemed  you  could  not  wait  the  time  of  asking. 

So  urgent  was  your  heart  to  make  it  known. 
Though  years  have  passed  since  then,  do  not  de- 
spair; 
The  Lord  will  answer  you  sometime,  somewhere. 

Unanswered  yet?    Nay,  do  not  say  ungranted; 

Perhaps  your  part  is  not  yet  wholly  done. 
The  work  began  when  first  your  prayer  was  ut- 
tered, 

And  God  will  finish  what  he  has  begun. 
If  you  will  keep  the  incense  burning  there, 
His  glory  you  shall  see  sometime,  somewhere. 

"  Unanswered  yet?    Faith  can  not  be  unanswered. 
Her  feet  were  firmly  planted  on  the  Rock; 


Tightening  the  Grip  225 

Amid  the  wildest  storms  she  stands  undaunted. 
Nor  quails  before  the  loudest  thunder  shock. 
She  knows  Omnipotence  has  heard  her  prayer. 
And  cries,  'It  shall  be  done,'  sometime,  some- 
where." 


3§oofe  jFibe 


WHY   OUR   PRAYERS   ARE   NOT 
ANSWERED 

*  Ye  ask  and  ye  receive  not  because —  ' — J  as.  /5:3. 

If  parts  of  this  study  have  been  a  trifle 
hard  and  a  bit  difficult  to  understand,  we 
are  now  at  the  part  where  writer  and 
reader  must  understand  whether  they  will 
or  not.  This  may  not  be  the  most  pleas- 
ing part  to  read  for  some  of  us,  for  some 
of  it  is  sure  to  rise  up  from  the  page  and 
condemn  us,  but  it  is  the  easiest  to  write 
about,  because  there  are  no  knotty  prob- 
lems to  solve;  no  mysteries  to  unravel  in 
answer  to  the  question  that  stands  with 
such  searching  emphasis  at  the  head  of 
this  chapter. 

God    does    answer    prayer,    and    yet 
so   many  thousands    are   com-  ^^  ^^^ 
plaining  of   prayers  that  have  question  to 
been  unanswered ;  and  you  may 
be  thinking   the  question   now,  If   it  be 

229 


230    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

true  that  God  can  and  does  answer  prayer, 
and  why  is  it  that  He  does  not  answer 
mine?  Let  me  say  it  in  the  bluntest  possi- 
ble way.  You  can  answer  that  question 
for  yourself  a  good  deal  better  than  any 
one  else  can  answer  it  for  you.  It  used  to 
be  said  of  Luther,  that  he  could  ask  any- 
thing he  wanted  of  God  and  get  it,  but 
God  has  no  favorites  in  this  matter,  and  if 
your  prayers  are  not  answered,  nothing  is 
surer  in  the  world  than  this,  that  the  fault 
is  yours  and  not  God's. 

By  an  answered  prayer  is  meant  one  to 
which  God  has  said  Yes.  No  use  to  evade 
this  by  tampering  with  definitions.    Some 

say  that  **asking  and  getting 
meant  by  things  from  God  is  a  pitiably 
^raTr?*^       Small    couccptiou    of    prayer." 

Well,  it  is  if  all  that  is  implied 
in  prayer  ends  in  your  mind  just  there. 
Nevertheless,  the  fundamental  idea  of 
prayer  is  just  that.  Both  your  Bible  and 
your  dictionary  are  authority  for  this. 
*'Ask  and  ye  shall  receive" — i.  e.,  the 
thing  you  ask:  not  something  else.     Some 


Why  Our  Prayers  Are  Not  Answered  231 

say  God's  No  is  as  much  an  answer  to 
prayer  as  His  Yes.  But  No  is  a  denial — 
it  is  a  negative  answer,  but  when  you  pray 
the  answer  you  wish  and  expect  is  God's 
Yes  and  not  His  No,  and  this  is  what  the 
average  child  of  God  has  in  mind  when 
he  is  thinking  or  talking  about  answered 
prayer. 

Let  us  ponder  awhile  over  these  unan- 
swered petitions.  Bear  well  in  mind,  in 
the  first  place,  that 

DELAYED  ANSWERS  ARE  NOT  DENIALS 

God's  purposes  are  planet  sized,  and 
even  His  plans  for  you  and  me  are  often- 
times much  bigger  and  better  than  our 
short-ranged  vision  warrants  us  in  believ- 
ing. You  may  pray  in  strictest 
keeping  with  the  conditions  uett/r  for  ^ 
laid    down    in    the    preceding  ?J*°  **^*" 

i  o    his  own. 

pages,  which  sort  of  praying  we 
have  seen  makes  the  answer  certain,  yet 
it  does  not  follow  therefrom  that  the  an- 
swer must  come  just  at  the  time  or  just  in 
the  way  expected. 


232  How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

But  if  the  answer  is  delayed,  you  may 
be  sure  some  purpose  in  the  divine  mind 
is  being  served,  or  some  obstacle  stands 
in  the  way  which  a  little  time  only  can 
remove. 

1.  The  answer  may  be  delayed  as  a 

means   of   spiritual   disciplinco     We   are 

here  to  be  educated  and  God 

^chooror^^  knows  best  how  to  time  His 

spiritual        ^ood  ffifts  to  that  end.    Humil- 

character.         o  o 

ity,  patience  and  hope;  how 
much  we  need  such  virtues  as  these  and 
a  Faith  that 

*'  Knows  Omnipotence  hath  heard  her  prayer. 
And  cries,  'It  shall  be  done,'  sometime,  some- 
where"; 

and  what  heavenly  graces  are  to-day 
adorning  many  a  soul  because  of  a  period 
of  suffering  hard  to  bear  and  a  good  deal 
harder  to  understand,  except  for  the  sweet 
knowledge  that  God's  best  is  being  accom- 
plished, and  that  some  glad  day  *'the 
whole  of  life's  painful  experience  will  be 
poured  into  song  before  the  throne." 
If  Jacob's  desire  had  been  given  to  him 


Why  Our  Prayers  Are  Not  Answered .  233 

in  time  for  him  to  get  a  good  night's  rest, 
he  might  never  have  become  the  prince  of 
prayer  we  know  to-day.  If  Hannah's 
prayer  for  a  son  had  been  an-  Hannah's 
swered  at  the  time  she  set  for  prayer  tor 
herself,  the  nation  might  never 
have  known  the  mighty  man  of  God  it 
found  in  Samuel.  Hannah  wanted  only  a 
son,  but  God  wanted  more.  He  wanted 
a  prophet,  a  ruler  and  a  saviour  for  His 
people.  Some  one  has  said  that  in  this 
instance  "God  had  to  get  a  woman  before 
He  could  get  a  man."  This  woman  He 
got  in  Hannah  precisely  by  delaying  the 
answer  to  her  prayer,  for  out  of  the  disci- 
pline of  those  weeks  and  months  and  years 
there  came  a  woman  with  a  vision  like 
God's,  with  tempered  soul  and  gentle 
spirit  and  seasoned  will,  prepared  to  be 
the  kind  of  a  mother  for  the  kind  of  a 
man  God  knew  the  nation  needed. 

2.  The  answer  may  be  delayed  by  the 
very  force  of  circumstances.  You  want  to 
know  if  God  cannot  overcome  these  in- 
stanter?    Yes,  He  doubtless  can,  but  it  is 


234    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

hardly  the  part  of  reverent  trust  to  ask 
Him  to  do  the  miraculous  if  He  can  do  this 
„  ^       ,       thing;   in   His   own   good  time 

God  works  o  o  ^ 

along  the       in  auv  othcr  way.    Impatience 

line  of  •  1      /-I      1     •        1 

least  With  (jrod  IS  the  meanest  sort 

resistance.  ^£  distrust.  To  pray  for  the  in- 
stant healing  of  a  diseased  body  is  to 
ignore  every  second  cause  and  every  law 
of  nature  and  to  ask  God  to  do  the  same, 
and  that  we  fear  not  so  much  for  His  glory 
as  for  our  own  gratification. 

May  not  the  same  thing  be  true  in  some 
instances  when  prayer  is  sent  up  for  the 
instant  conversion  of  some  soul.^  In  fact, 
of  the  two  is  not  the  former  much  more 
reasonable.^  God  can  handle  the  laws  of 
nature  as  He  will,  but  can  He  thus  handle 
a  human  will  and  still  leave  the  individual 
a  free,  moral  and  responsible  agent  .^^  A 
man's  will  must  be  influenced  by  motives ; 
the  evil  of  sin  must  be  seen  and  something 
of  the  character  of  God  appreciated.  The 
power  of  these  motives  depends  a  good 
deal  upon  their  proper  presentation  by 
the  proper  person  and  at  the  proper  time. 


Why  Our  Prayers  Are  Not  Answered  235 

We  do  not  need  to  explain  why,  but  just 
to  recognize  what  God  has  shown  us  to 
be  true,  that  He  has  chosen  to  limit  Him- 
self very  largely  to  human  instrumentality 
in  saving  another  man's  soul.  God  will 
not  coerce  a  man's  will,  but  He  may  re- 
move him  from  influences  that  have  made 
it  hard  for  him  to  be  reached  and  bring 
him  into  new  surroundings  that  may  lead 
to  the  saving  of  his  soul.  In  all  these 
things  the  element  of  time  must  not  be 
ignored. 

No !  child  of  faith,  a  delay  is  not  a  de- 
jiial.  The  answer  must  come,  but  at  a 
time  known  only  to  His  infinite  wisdom. 
"For  the  vision  is  yet  for  an  appointed 
time,  but  at  the  end  it  shall  speak  and  not 
lie;  though  it  tarry,  wait  for  it,  for  it  will 
surely  come;  it  will  not  tarry." 

And  yet  prayers  do  go  unanswered. 
*'Ye  ask  and  ye  receive  not  because — " 
Well,  it  might  be,  thinking  back  through 
what  has  been  said  before,  because  the 
specific  petition  you  make  is  not  in  har- 
mony with  God's  better  plans  for  you. 


236    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

1.  Petitions  are  sometimes  denied  be- 
what  cause    if    granted    they   would 

answered       bring  US  Dositivc  iniurv.    True 

prayer  .  .  . 

would  some-  wisdom,  if   we   had   it,  would 

times  mean.    ^^^^^  alloW  US   tO    be  at   CrOSS- 

purposes  with  God. 

"...   So  weak  is  man, 
So  ignorant  and  blind,  that  did  not  God 
Sometimes  withhold  in  mercy  what  we  ask. 
We  should  be  ruined  at  our  own  request." 

You  denied  your  little  one  the  razor  he 
craved,  but  you  knew  why.  (And  possi- 
bly if  we  would  all  think  back  a  little 
through  our  own  history  we  could  recall 
some  earnest  prayer  of  the  heart,  some 
cry  of  the  soul,  which  later  events  proved 
to  be  against  our  own  best  welfare.)  Is 
not  a  word  of  warning  appropriate  just 
here.'^  Is  there  not  some  peril  in  prayers 
that  are  uttered  rashly  and  persistently. 
Some  of  our  best  lessons  are  learned  in  the 
school  of  adversity.  Here  is  an  illustra- 
tion gathered  from  the  writings  of  a  fellow 
minister : 

*'A  pastor's  wife  once  prayed  for  the  life 


Why  Our  Prayers  Are  Not  Answered  237 

o^  her  child,  sick  with  scarlet  fever.  She 
pemanded  that  her  child  be  spared,  telling 
God  that  she  could  not  give  up  her  boy. 
The  child  lived,  but  was  deaf,  dumb  and 
idiotic.  It  would  have  been  far  better  if 
the  mother  had  consented  to  the  Lord's 
will  and  the  Lord  had  taken  the  lad  to 
Himself. 

Does  God  do  things  like  that?  What 
ponderous  questions  come  up  about  God ! 
Is  God  responsible  for  everything.?  No, 
He  certainly  is  not.  Yet  we  know  that 
Israel  prayed  amiss  in  the  wilderness  and 
God  "gave  them  their  request,  but  sent 
leanness  into  their  soul."  God  answered 
Hezekiah's  prayer,  but  the  fifteen  years 
of  life  He  gave  him  brought  sorrow  into 
his  own  family  and  woe  and  misery  to 
Jerusalem  and  all  Judea.  *'Be  not  rash 
with  thy  mouth,  and  let  not  thine 
heart  be  hasty  to  utter  anything  before 
God." 

2.  Petitions  are  sometimes  denied  that 
the  larger  desire  of  our  heart  may  be 
granted.    Augustine's  mother  prayed  fer- 


238    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

vently  that  her  boy  might  be  kept  from 

going  to  Rome,  but  God  permitted  him  to 

go.    Yet    the   going    to    Rome 

One  petition    i  .  i  e     k 

denied  lor  became  the  means  oi  Angus - 
another*  °'  tine's  Conversion,  and  very 
beautifully  he  says  that  God 
denied  his  mother  once  to  grant  her 
what  she  had  prayed  for  always. 

3.  Closely  akin  to  this  is  the  denial  of 
our  prayer  in  order  that  a  higher  and  bet- 
ter blessing  may  come  to  us.  Earnestly 
and  repeatedly  did  Paul  pray  that  a  cer- 
tain thorn  in  his  flesh — some  constantly 
pricking  irritation  that  had  come  into  his 
life — might  be  taken  away;  but  God  let 
him  know  it  was   a  thing  in  which  he 

Why  the     7^"^^  ^^^^  ^^y  gi^^y'  ^^^  I 

thorn  in  imagine  when  Paul  looked  back 
was  not  upon  it  from  the  close  of  his 
removed.        jj^^  j^^  would  tell  thosc  gathered 

about  him  of  the  special  nearness  of  God 
and  the  glory  presence  of  Jesus  which  had 
been  a  millionf  old  sweeter  to  him  than  any 
fleshly  ease  the  removal  of  that  ugly,  an- 
noying thorn  might  have  brought  him. 


Why  Our  Prayers  Are  Not  Answered  239 

If  a  mother  bending  over  her  sick  child 
and  praying  with  all  the  intensity  of 
motherly  affection  could  only  have  lodged 
in  some  way  in  her  heart  the  unmistak- 
able conviction  that  its  early  removal  was 
the  sure  condition  of  its  eternal  salvation, 
would  she  not  gladly  relinquish  the  smaller 
desire  of  her  heart  that  it  might  be  swal- 
lowed up  in  the  greater  blessing  that 
represented  the  answer  to  the  greatest 
prayer  a  mother  heart  can  make. 

Those  of  you  who  have  read  the  little 
book  entitled  "Expectation  Corner"  will 
remember  how  Adam  Slowman's  guide 
stopped  in  front  of  a  handsome  ^^^  ^^  ^^ 
storehouse  and  told  him  it  was  Exchange 
the  Royal  Exchange  Ofl&ce,*'the 
place,"  he  said,  *Svhere  our  Lord  Himself 
considers   our   applications  and  changes 
His  grants  to  what  is  really  most  for  our 
good.     Some  ask  for  success  and  speedy 
deliverance,"  he  said,  "and  they  get  dis- 
appointments  which   bring  them  nearer 
to  Him  who  will  deliver  them  gloriously 
in  trouble  if  not  always  out  of  trouble. 


240    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

Some  ask  for  health  of  body  and  they  get 
health  of  soul  instead  and  learn  what  it  is 
to  gain  the  highest  attainable  gift  of  a 
submitted  will  which  brings  changeless 
peace  and  is  worth  all  the  prosperity  gifts 
put  together." 

If  we  could  only  pass,  like  Doddridge 
in  his  famous  dream,  into  the  spirit  world 
and  find,  as  he  did,  our  own  life  traced 
on  the  wall  of  our  own  chamber,  we  too 
could  run  our  eyes  along  the  mysterious 
lines  and  discover  His  appointment  in 
every  disappointment,  and  learn  that  our 
final  glory  is  reached  through  prayers  that 
have  been  answered  in  larger  measure 
than  we  had  ever  ventured  to  implore. 

What  we  have  said  so  far  may  be  taken 
as  a  partial  answer  to  the  question  intro- 
ducing this  chapter,  but  it  has  not  one 
thing  to  do  with  the  difiiculty  as  presented 
in  the  Scripture  which  stands  alongside 
the  question.  These  have  been  denials 
because  of  petitions  either  out  of  harmony 
with  God's  richer  plan  for  us  or  out  of 
the  line  along  which  God  must  act  to  bring 


Why  Our  Prayers  Are  Not  Answered  241 

us  the  larger  blessings  we  have  craved, 
but  the  Scripture  to  which  we  have  re- 
ferred says,   "Ye  ask  and  re-  The  reason 
ceive  not  because — "  and  then  an'swered 

follows  a    reason    that  startles  P'^je*"  ac- 
cording to 
you.     The    longer    you    think  st.james. 

about  it  the  bigger    it   gets.     It   brings 

a  sensation  with  it — not  the  most  pleasant, 

did  you  say.^    You  begin  to  search  your 

own  heart  and  to  think  about  your  own 

life,  and  the  first  thing  you  know  you  find 

yourself  wondering  if,  after  all,  this  may 

not  be  that  which  more  than  anything  else 

has  kept  the  blessing  away.    The  matter 

of  the  prayer  may  have  been  all  right,  but 

the  heart  which  indited  it  has  been  all 

wrong.    It  is  the  life,  you  will  recall,  that 

prays,    and   some   evil   in   your   life   has 

broken  the  connection  between  yourself 

and  God. 

What  does  God  say  about  this.? 

1.  First,  He  makes  it  plain  that  it  is 
our  sin  that  deafens  His  ear.  "Behold, 
the  Lord's  hand  is  not  shortened  that  it 
cannot  save;  neither  his  ear  heavy  that 


242    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

it  cannot  hear.  But  your  iniquities  have 
separated  between  you  and  your  God,  and 
your  sins  have  hid  His  face  from  you,  that 
He  will  not  hear"  (Isaiah  59: 1,  2).  God 
says  it  is  your  sin  that  is  hindering  your 
prayer.  God  hates  sin  with  a  perfect 
Touveinsin  l^^tred.  His  greatest  horror  is 
Is  to  lose  the  to  havc  hauds  stretched  out  to 
Him  that  are  all  soiled  and  be- 
smirched with  it.  In  fact,  He  will  not 
look;  He  will  not  listen.  "And  when  ye 
spread  forth  your  hands,  I  will  hide  mine 
eyes  from  you"  (Isaiah  1: 15).  The  very 
privilege  of  prayer  implies  the  most  inti- 
mate relation  with  God.  Indeed,  some 
say  its  chief  essence  is  communion  with 
God.  It  is  communion  and  more:  it  is 
community,  just  because  it  is  communion 
of  the  most  intimate  sort.  God  maker; 
over  to  me  what  belongs  to  Him,  and  I 
am  expected  to  be  thus  equally  loyal  to 
Him.  It  is,  in  fact,  partnership.  But  I 
have  sinned  against  my  partner.  I  have 
done  the  mean,  low  thing  that  has  injured 
Him,  and  not  only  have  I  lacked  the  de- 


Why  Our  Prayers  Are  Not  Answered  243 

cency  to  apologize  for  it,  but  I  am  doing 
the  thing  repeatedly!  How,  then,  can  I 
expect  any  fellowship  with  Him  or  any 
favor  from  Him? 

Here  is  the  trouble.  We  have  looked 
down  deep  into  our  own  hearts  and  we 
have  found  the  thing  that  God  has  put 
His  finger  on  time  and  again,  and  it's 
there  still.  It  may  be  some  sin  of  the  past 
yet  unconfessed  and  unforgiven,  or  it  may 
be  some  sin  that  is  being  cherished  to-day, 
and  all  the  while  here  is  His  word:  "If  I 
regard  iniquity  in  my  heart  the  Lord  will 
not  hear  me"  (Ps.  66: 18).  It  is  the  in- 
wrought, fervent  prayer  of  the  righteous 
man  that  availeth  much.  "Your  iniqui- 
ties have  separated  between  you  and  your 
God,  and  your  sins  have  hid  His  face  from 
you  that  He  will  not  hear."  Is  it  not  time 
to  say,  "Search  me,  O  God,  and  know  my 
heart"  .'^  If  we  want  power  in  prayer  we 
must  be  merciless  in  dealing  with  our 
sins.    No  quarter  must  be  shown  here. 

2.  There  is  another  certain  thing,  just 
a  special  form  of  sin  that  is  mentioned  as 


244    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

crippling  our  power  to  pray,  and  that 
is  the  unforgiving  spirit.  Can  an  un- 
prayerand  Pardoned  sinner  hope  to  have 
theunfor-  any  influence  with  God?  Then 
hear!  *'If  ye  forgive  not  men 
their  trespasses,  neither  will  your  Father 
in  heaven  forgive  you.*'  This  lack  of 
loving  one  another — ^Aye,  this  actual 
hatred  of  each  other — what  a  dark,  ugly 
thing  it  is !  "Murder  already,"  God  calls 
it,  and  to  hold  it  and  to  harbor  it  is  to  lose 
His  pardon  and  His  favor.  If  prayer  is, 
or  implies,  or  is  based  upon  communion, 
community,  partnership,  then  the  dispo- 
sition of  the  one  must  be  the  disposition  of 
the  other.  The  closet  door  of  prayer  has 
two  hinges.  One  is,  "Love  God  su- 
premely," and  the  other  "is  like  unto  it," 
"Love  your  neighbor  as  yourself."  The 
"recompense"  of  the  "Father  who  seeth 
in  secret"  comes  when  the  "door  is  shut," 
but  the  door  will  never  swing  on  broken 
hinges.  Many  a  person  who  might  have 
power  with  God  is  losing  the  best  wish  of 
their  heart — some  mighty  blessing  from 


Why  Our  Prayers  Are  Not  Answered  245 

heaven — ^just  for  the  contemptible  and 
miserable  gratification  of  hating  some  one 
who  has  possibly  injured  them.  Jesus 
makes  it  very  plain  that  we  must  say 
farewell  to  enmity  or  stand  back  from 
the  holy  place. 

In  the  fifth  chapter  of  Matthew,  He 
says,  *'If  thou  bring  thy  gift  to  the  altar — 
that  is,  when  thou  comest  to 

1,1  I,  J.    The  message 

pray — and  there  rememberest  ouesusto 
that  thy  brother  hath  aught  g^^^g*"'" 
against  thee;  leave  there  thy 
gift  and  go  first  and  be  reconciled  to  thy 
brother,  and  then  come  and  offer  thy  gift.'* 
Reconciliation  goes  before  worship.  "A 
broken  and  contrite  heart"  He  will  not 
despise,  but  His  message  to  the  unforgiv- 
ing heart  is,  "Leave  thy  gift  and  go  and  be 
reconciled."  It  is  S.  D.  Gordon  who  has 
said,  "The  shortest  way  to  God  for  that 
man  is  not  the  way  to  the  altar  but  around 
by  that  man's  house."  "But,  Lord,  here's 
$100,000  to  endow  a  Christian  univer- 
sity." "Leave  there  thy  gift  and  go  and 
be  reconciled."    "But,  Lord,  I'm  a  pillar 


^ 


246    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

in  the  church,  and  the  largest  subscription 
to  its  treasury  is  mine."  "Leave  there  thy 
gift  and  go."  *'But,  Lord,  others  speak 
well  of  my  life  and  Thou  knowest  I  am 
faithful  to  all  the  services  in  the  sanctuary, 
and  every  one  knows  I  am  not  the  one  to 
blame  in  this  offense."  "Leave  there  thy 
gift  and  go  first  and  be  reconciled,  and 
then  come  and  offer  thy  gift."  Plain 
enough!  isn't  lU  But  He  would  have  no 
misunderstanding  about  it.  So  munifi- 
cent and  liberal,  so  bountiful  and  unspar- 
ing might  be  your  gifts  for  charity's  sake, 
that  all  the  world  would  be  singing  doxol- 

Good  works  pgies  ^^  P^^is.e  to  your  generos- 
do  not  com-  ity.  You  might  be  counted  a 
ningman  Christian  of  deep  spiritual  ex- 
perience ;  Aye,  you  might  go  as 
a  herald  of  the  Gospel  into  heathen  lands, 
but  if  you  left  behind  one  unreconciled 
person  whom  you  have  not  in  the  tender 
and  loving  spirit  of  the  Christ  endeavored 
to  reconcile,  whatever  you  give,  whatever 
you  are,  wherever  you  go,  your  heart  will 
not  be  right  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  when 


Why  Our  Prayers  Are  Not  Answered  247 

you  bow  down  at  His  altar  you  will  hear 
these  words,  *'Go  and  be  reconciled  to  thy 
brother,"  and  when  you  have  gone  and 
done  your  part  and  come  again,  then  will 
the  heavens  open  and  your  prayer  will 
enter  and  the  blessing  of  God  will  be  upon 
you. 

3.  Yet  one  other  thing  brings  denial  to 
our  prayers.  This  is  that  in  particular 
which  St.  James  had  in  mind  when  he 
wrote  the  Scripture  part  of  which  we 
started  with  at  the  beginning  of  this  chap- 
ter. *'Ye  ask  and  ye  receive  not."  Now  let 
the  Apostle  finish  it  for  us — "  be-  „^ 

^  ^  ^        The  prayer 

cause  ye  ask  amiss,"   that  is,  that-asks 

3rIXllSS     " 

wickedly;  and  now  he  tells  us 
why — "that  ye  may  consume  it  upon  your 
lusts,"  or,  more  literally,  *'that  ye  may 
spend  it  in  your  pleasures."  This  means 
praying  with  a  selfish  purpose.  The  very 
form  of  the  second  verb  "ask"  is  changed 
into  what  is  called  the  middle  voice,  that 
is,  "asking  for  oneself,"  and  this  is  the 
secret  that  explains  why  so  many  prayers 
go  unanswered.    They  are  selfish  prayers. 


248    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

Possibly  if  we  would  hold  this  text  up 
before  us  as  a  mirror  we  might  some  of  us 
see  our  own  face  reflected  there.  We 
sometimes  want  a  thing  just  because  we 
want  it — ^want  it  for  ourselves.  With 
God's  great  purpose  for  the  world  and 
some  part,  whether  small  or  great.  He 
would  have  us  take  we  are  not  concerned. 
The  truth — the  plain  truth,  spoken  as 
bluntly  as  words  can  speak — is  that  our 
selfishness  is  paralyzing  our  petitions. 
Here  is  an  individual  praying  that  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  may  be  upon 
him.  It  is  a  splendid  prayer  to  make.  It 
is  just  for  that  which  God  so  much  wants 

SeeMngthe      ^^^^7  child  of  His  tO  haVC,  but 

glory  of  self    wav  back  in  the  breast  of  the 

Instead  of  ,  ™  , 

the  glory  ouc  who  oiiers  the  prayer  is 
something  that  spoils  it  all  and 
makes  the  petition  a  sheer  waste  of  words 
and  a  thing  abominable  in  the  sight  of 
God.  What  a  fine  thing  for  himself  it 
would  be  to  have  this  power.  He  has  seen 
some  mighty  man  of  God  in  a  marvelous 
ministry,  and  the  power  that  man  had  he 


Why  Our  Prayers  Are  Not  Answered  249 

has  coveted  for  himself;  and  why?  This 
is  it — the  purpose — that  makes  it  right  or 
wrong.  And  if  we  search  honestly  for  the 
reason,  some  of  us,  I  fear,  would  find  our 
own  ambitions  striking  us  full  in  the 
face. 

You  have  asked  God  to  heal  your  dis- 
ease, but  just  why  do  you  want  your  fail- 
ing health  restored  ?  One  of  the  members 
of  Dr.  Dixon's  church  came  to  him  once 
and  said,  "Pastor,  I  want  you  to  pray  for 
my  healing,  for  I  am  afflicted."  Dr.  Dixon 
said,  "I  knew  why  she  was  afflicted;  she 
had  been  spending  two  or  three 
nights  a  week  at  a  ball  or  thea-  member's 
ter,  and  as  a  result  of  her  dissi-  Y!^^^"  *°' 

\  ^  health. 

pation  she  was  afflicted."  He 
said,  "What  do  you  want  to  live  for,  any 
way.^"  and  he  said,  "I  could  see  that  her 
principal  reason  for  desiring  health  was 
that  she  might  attend  more  balls,  give 
more  parties  and  have  a  better  time  in  the 
world.  She  wanted  health  that  she  might 
spend  it  in  her  own  pleasures  and  for  God 
to  have  answered  her  prayers  would  have 


250    How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

been  to  fix  her  in  a  worldly  life  forever," 
and  he  did  not  pray. 

Here  is  a  mother  praying  for  her  boy. 
It  would  make  such  a  nice  young  man  out 
of  him  to  be  a  Christian;  it  would  keep 
her  from  any  further  disgrace — it  would 
be  such  a  joy  to  her  to  have  such  a  son, 
and  then  the  thought  of  his  being  lost  for- 
ever is  so  painful.  But  if  God  should  say, 
"I  need  a  missionary  for  the  jungles  of 
Africa,  and  I  shall  redeem  your  boy  for 
that  noble  work,"  she  would  cry,  "Oh, 
no.  Lord,  not  my  boy  for  that!"  Selfish 
prayer!  Many  a  woman  is  praying  the 
same  way  for  the  conversion  of  her  hus- 
band. 

And  if  we  would  dig  down  deep  and 
examine  the  tap-root  at  its  very  end  possi- 
bly we  might  discover  some  such  motive 
in  many  of  our  prayers  for  a  revival.  Of 
course,  we  persuade  ourselves 
sometimes  — if  wc  Can — that  it  is  other- 
revfyir*  wise;  the  thing  is  so  contempt- 
ibly mean  that  we  spurn  the 
thought  of  it;  in  fact,  we  don't  think  it; 


Why  Our  Prayers  Are  Not  Answered  251 

we  don't  allow  ourselves  to.    But  a  revival 
means  something;  increased  membership, 
easier  finances,  splendid  reports  at  Con- 
ference or  Presbytery,  prestige  among  the 
brethren  and  possibly  a  better  call.    We 
know  better  than  any  one  else  that  we  are 
zealous  for  God's  glory,  but  if  while  we  are 
planning  and  praying  for  a  revival  these 
other  unworthy  thoughts  flit  through  the 
mind    with    persistent    recurrency,    we'll 
(  have  to  account  for  them  some  way,  and 
\  usually  just  a  bit  of  deep,  genuine  heart- 
\  searching  will  do  it;  and  the  revival  does 
I  not  come. 

/  Oh,  for  a  hungering  and  thirsting  only 
for  God's  glory;  for  a  passion  something 
like  the  Son  of  God's,  that  cannot  bear  to 
see  men  lost;  for  a  zeal  for  the  house  of 
God  that  cannot  endure  to  see  it  dishon- 
ored by  the  worldliness  of  its  professed 
worshipers.  Oh,  for  an  utter  self -forget- 
ting concern  for  the  thing  that  is  dearest 
to  God  that  cannot  bear  to  think  of  one 
jot  or  tittle  of  His  word  being  made  void 
by  the  proud  unbelief  of  the  day!    How 


252   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

the  sound  of  abundance  of  rain  would  be 
heard  in  the  land;  how  the  windows  of 
heaven  would  go  up;  how  the  mighty 
floods  of  blessing  would  come ! 

*'Ye  ask  and  ye  receive  not  because — " 
Fill  it  out  for  yourself,  and  when  you  have 
hit  upon  the  thing  that  is  hiding  God's 

face  and  taking  the  sense  of  His 
Making  the  prescucc  away  from  you,  put  it 
personal.        away  by  His  grace,  tor  it  is  sm, 

and  where  there  is  sin  He  will 
not  tarry.  It  may  be  something  we  have 
not  thought  of  before  as  wrong,  but  if  we 
say,  and  say  it  sincerely,  "Search  me, 
O  God,  and  know  my  heart;  try  me  and 
know  my  thought,  and  see  if  there  be  any 
evil  thing  in  me,"  He  will  discover  the 
thing  to  us  that  ought  to  go  from  us. 

"  Oh,  for  the  times  when  on  my  heart. 
Long  prayer  hath  never  palled; 
Times  when  the  ready  thought  of  God 
Would  come  when  it  was  called. 

"What  can  have  locked  these  fountains  up. 
Those  visions  what  hath  stayed; 


Why  Our  Prayers  Are  Not  Answered  253 

What  sudden  act  hath  thus  transformed 
My  sunshine  into  shade? 

*'  One  thing  alone,  dear  Lord,  I  dread. 
To  have  a  secret  spot 
That  separates  my  soul  from  Thee 
And  yet  to  know  it  not. 

**  If  it  hath  been  sin  of  mine, 
Then  show  that  sin  to  me; 
Not  to  get  back  the  sweetness  lost, 
But  to  make  my  peace  with  Thee." 


SI  ^tttbp  in  Witxhsi 


A  STUDY  IN  WORDS* 

We  want  in  these  closing  pages  to  con- 
sider in  a  few  lines  what  might  well  be 
made  a  volume  in  itself.  There  is  a  wealth 
of  meaning  hidden  away  in  the  various 
words  which  the  Bible  uses  when  speaking 
of  prayer  and  in  various  other  words  used 
in  connection  with  prayer;  and  there  is 
much  about  prayer  that  can  be  learned 
better  if  not  only  by  a  study  of  these  words. 
To  those  of  us  who  believe  that  God  Him- 
self had  a  care  even  in  the  wording  of  the 
thoughts  He  inspired,  this  study  will  be 
doubly  significant. 

We  shall  do  nothing  more  than  pre- 
sent the  matter  in  briefest  outline. 

I.  There  is,  first,  the  words  which 
are  themselves  used  to  designate  prayer. 
There  are  seven  Greek  words  in  the  New 
Testament  variously  translated  "to  pray," 

*  The  suggestion  for  the  study  in  this  Chapter  comes 
to  the  writer  from  Macgregor's  "Praying   in  the  Holy 
Ghost,"  a  most  helpful  and  inspiring  little  volume. 
257 


258   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

"to  beseech,"  "to  supplicate,"  "to  ask," 
"to  intercede,"  "to  entreat,"  "to  call  up- 
on," each  of  which  might  without  violence 
to  the  term  be  translated  by  our  English 

Greek  and  ^^^^^  "p^ay."  We  are  now,  of 
Hebrew         coursc,  referring  to  prayer  in  its 

words  used       .  ^  o         j.       ./ 

to  designate;  broadcr  meaning  as  an  ap- 
prayer.  proach  uuto  God.    In  the  Old 

Testament  there  are  twelve  Hebrew  words 
similarly  translated.  Some  of  the  terms 
are  to  a  degree  synonymous,  words  of  the 
New  Testament  finding  their  equivalents 
in  the  Old  Testament.  For  the  spirit  and 
temper  in  which  we  ought  to  pray  no  bet- 
ter guide  can  be  found  than  these  words 
themselves. 

Of  course,  in  setting  forth  the  primary 
significance  of  these  words  it  is  not  meant 
that  they  are  used  in  Scripture  only  with 
this  particular  shade  of  meaning.  It 
would  be  quite  impossible  to  go  through 
Scripture  and  establish  any  such  distinc- 
tion which  would  hold  true  in  each  par- 
ticular use  of  the  word  in  question,  but  the 
lesson  to  be  learned  in  this  study  is  that 


A  Study  in  Words  259 

each  word  carries  its  own  particular  truth 
and  when  taken  together  they  enrich  the 
meaning  of  prayer  as  nothing  else  can  do. 

Now,  if  prayer  is  to  secure  the  thing  for 
which  it  goes  to  God,  certain  things  must 
be  true  of  God  and  certain  other  things  must 
be  true  of  man.  There  must  be  on  God's 
part,  first  the  power  and  then  the  willing- 
ness to  give.  True  prayer  implies  a  recog- 
nition of  these  two  things. 

1.  It  implies  a  recognition  of  divine 
sovereignty.  God's  willingness  to  give 
would  boot  us  nothing  if  the  power  were 
not  His  to  do  it.  It  is  a  rich  word  which 
teaches  us  this,  and  the  one 
most  frequently  used  in  the  Old 
Testament.  It  is  palal,  and  with  its  noun, 
tephillah,  is  used  147  times.  It  appeals 
to  the  sovereign  majesty  of  God  as  one 
whose  prerogative  it  is  to  decide  the  merits 
of  the  case  and  who  has  the  power  to  put 
His  will  concerning  the  matter  into  swift 
execution.  It  rests  its  case  with  Him  in 
entire  self-surrender,  confident  that  the 
Judge  of  all  the  earth  will  do  right.    It  is 


260  How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

used  in  petitions  of  various  sorts,  but  es- 
pecially in  prayers  of  intercession.  It  is 
the  word  used  by  Samuel  in  1  Sam.  12 :  23, 
where  he  said,  "God  forbid  that  I  should 
sin  against  the  Lord  in  ceasing  to  pray  for 

you." 

2.  It  implies  a  recognition  of  divine 
grace.  Power  to  give  and  willingness  to 
give  are  often  at  farthest  extremes.  But 
it  is  true  not  only  that  "Power  belongeth 
unto  God,"  but  that  "The  Lord 
is  plenteous  in  mercy  unto  all 
them  that  call  upon  Him"  (Ps.  86 : 5).  How 
could  one  pray  without  believing  this  to 
be  true.?  This  lesson  is  taught  especially 
in  the  Old  Testament  word  chanan.  The 
verb  primarily  means  "to  be  inclined 
towards,"  then  "to  be  gracious,"  and  then 
it  comes  to  mean  in  one  of  its  tenses,  "to 
entreat  for  mercy."  It  is  usually  trans- 
lated "supplication."  It  is  the  word  Sol- 
omon uses  so  often  in  the  dedicatory 
prayer  of  the  temple.  (1  Kings  8 :  33, 
47,  59.) 

There  must  be  also  certain  dispositions 


A  Study  in  Words  261 

on  the  part  of  raan  who  is  to  approach 
God  in  prayer,  and  these  all  are  implied 
in  true  prayer. 

1.  True  prayer  implies  a  recognition  of 
one's  own  need.  He  will  never  pray  suc- 
cessfully without  this.  This  is  brought 
out  by  the  Greek  word  deomai,  translated 
by  "pray"  in  Matt.  9:6,  "Pray  deomai  and 
ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the  i-achash. 
harvest,"  etc.,  and  by  "beseech"  in  Luke 
9:  38,  "Master,  I  beseech  thee  look  upon 
my  son."  Prayer  without  the  sense  of 
need  is  purposeless  and  therefore  power- 
less. Quite  similar  to  this  is  the  Hebrew 
word  lachash,  in  Isa.  26:16,  "Lord,  in 
trouble  have  they  visited  Thee;  they 
poured  out  a  prayer  when  thy  chastening 
was  upon  them."  It  is  the  prayer  of  dire 
extremity. 

2.  True  prayer  implies  the  most  ardent 
desire.    It  is  "they  who  hunger  and  thirst" 
whose  souls  are  filled  and  satisfied.     To 
fail  here  is  to  fail  utterly.    This 
message  is  brought  to  us  in  the 
Hebrew  word  beah.    It  is  a  rare  word,  is 


262  How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

translated  "pray"  in  Dan.  6: 11,  and  lit- 
erally means  "to  boil,"  as  boiling  water. 
From  this  is  derived  metaphorically  the 
idea  of  the  fervent,  ardent  longing  of  the 
soul. 

3.  True  prayer  implies  a  recognition  of 
one's  own  helplessness.  The  midnight 
petitioner  said,  "I  have  nothing  to  set  be- 
fore my  unexpected  guest."  It  was  a  situ- 
ation of  utter  impotence.  Perhaps  the 
word  more  suggestive  of  this  than  any 
other  is  the  New  Testament  word  jmra- 
haleo.  The  preposition  i^ara  means  "along 
side  of,"  while  the  verb  haleo  means  "to 
call."  From  this  comes  the  word  Para- 
PARAKA-  clete,  John's  designation  of  the 
LEO.  Holy  Spirit,  the  Divine  Helper 

and  Sustainer.  Parakaleo  is  usually 
translated  "beseech."  It  is  the  word  used 
by  Jairus  when  "he  besought  Jesus  greatly, 
saying,  My  little  daughter  lieth  at  the 
point  of  death"  (Mark  5 :  23).  "Thrice," 
said  Paul,  "for  this  thing  I  besought  the 
Lord"  (2  Cor.  12:8).  Self-sufficiency 
never  finds  its  way  to  the  feet  of  God. 


A  Study  in  Words  263 

4.  True  prayer  implies  a  becoming 
sense  of  reverence  and  awe.  It  recognizes 
the  divine  splendor  and  magnificence  and 
the  true  supplicant  will  feel  something  of 
what  Isaiah  experienced  when  he  saw  the 
Lord  "sitting  upon  a  throne  high  and 
lifted  up"  and  heard  the  seraphims  crying 
one  to  another,  "Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the 
Lord  of  hosts;  the  whole  earth  is  full  of 
His  glory."  The  word  most  expressive  of 
this  is  the  Hebrew  athar.  It  carries  with 
it  the  idea  of  worship.    In  fact, 

ATHAR 

its  first  meaning  is  "to  burn  in- 
cense," and  the  noun  is  used  in  Zeph. 
3:10,  to  designate  a  worshiper  of  God. 
Every  prayer,  to  be  genuine,  must  first  be 
an  incense.  The  one  who  prays  will  re- 
member that  he  is  entering  the  holiest  of 
holies  and  that  God,  the  infinitely  Holy 
One,  is  there. 

5.  True  prayer  implies  a  recognition  of 
one's  own  unworthiness.  This  truth 
seems   to   lie   especially  in  the 

Old  Testament    word    chalah, 

which  is  used  so  frequently  when  God's 


264  How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

wrath  is  deprecated  and  when  one  in  pen- 
itence seeks  to  appease  His  anger.  It 
means  Uterally  "to  stroke,"  "to  smooth," 
and  then  "to  concihate  by  caress,"  to 
stroke  one's  face  and  smooth  its  stern 
furrows.  This  is  the  word  Moses  used 
when  praying  for  idolatrous  Israel  (Ex. 
32: 11).  See  also  1  Kings  13:  6;  2  Kings 
13 :  41 ;  Dan.  9 :  13,  and  1  Sam.  13 :  12.  It 
is  the  "God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner"  of 
the  publican.  It  is  the  "contrite  heart" 
such  as  David  presented  in  his  Psalm  of 
confession,  which  the  Lord  will  not  de- 
spise (Ps.  51). 

6.  True  prayer  implies  a  proper  reflec- 
tion. It  is  studied  and  deliberate,  and  not 
hurried.  Remember  in  whose  presence 
thou  art,  and  "Be  not  rash  with  thy  mouth 
and  let  not  thine  heart  be  hasty  to  utter 
anything  before  God."  The  soul  must  be 
calm  and  meditative.  The  word  teaching 
siACHand  us  this  is  the  Hebrew  word 
HAGA.  siach.     It  is  the  word  used  of 

Isaac  when  he  went  out  into  the  field  to 
meditate,  and  is  so  translated  in   Gen. 


V. 


A  Study  in  Words  265 

24:63.  It  is  the  word  used  when  the 
Psalmist  says,  *'My  meditation  of  Him 
shall  be  sweet"  (Ps.  103 :  34).  It  is  trans- 
lated "prayer"  in  Ps.  55 :  17,  and  literally 
means  "to  muse,"  "to  ponder  over."  In 
the  Greek  translation  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment this  last  reference  is  rendered  "nar- 
rate fully,"  that  is,  going  over  it  all  care- 
fully beforehand.  There  is  one  other 
word  containing  somewhat  the  same  idea, 
though  hardly  so  expressive.  It  is  haga, 
and  is  used  quite  as  frequently  as  the 
other.     (See  Ps.  63:6.) 

7.  True    prayer    implies    frank,    open 
simplicity  and  directness.    It  is  our  privi- 
lege to  "come  boldly,"  without  fear,  but 
that  so  far  as  the  Father's  heart  is  con- 
cerned, the  very  thing  we  want  is  the  very 
thing  He  would  delight  to  give.    Our  re- 
quests will  then  be  direct  and  definite. 
This  seems  to  me  the  meaning  brought 
out  especially  by  the  New  Tes-  ^j^^o 
tament  words  aiteo  and  erotao  erotao 
and  their  Old  Testament  equiv- 
alent shaal.  The  exact  distinction  between 


266  How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

aiteo  and  erotao  has  been  much  disputed. 
Some  would  have  us  think  aiteo  gives  prom- 
inence to  the  superiority  of  the  person 
addressed,  while  erotao  implies  a  certain 
equality  and  familiarity  between  the  two; 
but  New  Testament  usage  does  not  bear 
this  out.  That  probably  is  the  true  dis- 
tinction (if  there  is  any)  which  makes 
aiteo  (which  seems  to  be  a  little  less  in- 
tense than  the  other)  lay  emphasis  more 
especially  on  the  thing  to  be  given,  and 
erotao  on  the  person  who  is  to  do  some- 
thing for  you.  The  words  mean  simply 
*'to  make  request."  Such  frankness  and 
simplicity  in  prayer  is  possible  only  with 
a  conscience  void  of  offence.  When  clean 
hands  are  lifted  up,  God's  greatest  delight 
is  to  fill  them. 

8.  True  prayer  implies  the  childlike 
spirit  and  a  confiding  approach  unto  God. 
This  is  brought  to  us  in  the  Greek  word 
ENTUNCH-  entunchano.  It  is  the  word  that 
ANo.  gives   prominence   to   childlike 

confidence,  and  represents  prayer  as  the 
heart's  converse  with  God.    It  is  the  word 


A  Study  in  Words  267 

used  in  intercession,  as  when  a  child  goes 
to  its  father  in  behalf  of  another.  We  are 
children  in  Christ,  and  nothing  pleases 
the  Father  more  than  the  utter  absence  of 
all  misgiving  and  affectation  in  the  appeal 
of  his  own  child  to  His  heart.  It  is  used 
in  1  Tim.  2:1,  "that  .  .  ;  intercessions 
be  made  for  all  men,"  and  is  the  word  that 
represents  the  pleadings  of  Christ  in  our 
behalf  (Heb.  7:25). 

9.  True  prayer  implies  an  expectant 
attitude  of  the  soul.  An  expectancy  that 
gladdens  the  heart  in  anticipation  of  the 
coming  blessing  and  is  an  utter  stranger 
to  surprise  when  the  thing  desired  comes 
to  pass.  This  is  really  the  faith  that  be- 
heves  we  "have  received"  (Mark  11:24, 
R.  v.).  It  is  a  confidence  born  of  the 
Spirit  and,  if  so,  it  can  never  be  betrayed. 
Its  ground  is  the  intimacy  of  the  soul  with 
Jesus.  This  lesson  is  the  one  more  espe- 
cially  peculiar  to  the   Aramaic 

TSALA 

word  tsala.   The  word  is  used  but 

twice ;  once  in  Dan.  6:10,  and  once  in  Ezra 

6 :  10.    It  means  "to  bend,"  and  in  its  root 


268   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

significance,  as  may  be  seen  by  tracing  it 
in  the  Arabic,  has  reference  to  the  bending 
in  the  back  of  a  mare  before  foaUng,  ac- 
companied as  it  always  is  by  the  strength-  , 
ening  of  the  tissues  in  anticipation  of  the 
strain  about  to  come  upon  them.  It  is  ^ 
this  root  to  which  Daniel  and  Ezra  have 
gone  to  select  for  us  a  word  which  means 
*'to  pray."  They  would  not  have  us  tarry 
before  God  in  idle  utterance  and  call  it 
prayer. 

10.  True  prayer  implies  earnestness 
and  intensity.  The  word  which  carries 
this  meaning  with  it  more  especially  than 
any  other  is  a  New  Testament  one.  It  is 
the  word  ektenos,  as  used  in 
^^7if?J?!      Acts  12:  5,  where  it  is  most  un- 

andPAGA.  _  ' 

happily  translated  in  the  Au- 
thorized Version  by  "without  ceasing,'* 
but  in  the  Revised  Version  it  is  made  to 
read  "earnestly."  It  literally  means 
"stretched-out-ed-ly."  "Intensely"  would 
be  a  good  translation.  It  is  a  word  repre- 
senting the  soul  under  the  sway  of  an  in- 
tense passion ;  stretched  out,  with  its  every 


A  Study  in  Words  269 

energy  strained  in  the  exercise  to  which  it 
is  devoted.  It  is  the  prayer  that  forgets 
all  things  else  in  the  intensity  of  its  desire 
and  its  determined  hold  upon  God.  There 
is  no  wandering  of  thought  here.  All 
there  is  of  a  man  goes  into  a  prayer  like 
that.  It  is  this  word  which  is  used  of 
Jesus  in  Gethsemane,  where  it  is  said, 
"being  in  an  agony  he  prayed  more  ear- 
nestly.^' 

There  is  an  Old  Testament  word  cor- 
responding somewhat  to  this  word  ehtenos. 
It  is  faga.  In  its  first  sense  it  means  *'to 
strike  upon,  or  against."  Among  its  sev- 
eral derived  meanings  are,  (1)  to  rush 
upon  any  one  with  hostile  violence  (1  Sam. 
22 :  17, 18,  and  Judges  8:21);  (2)  in  a  good 
sense,  "to  assail  any  one  with  petitions," 
to  earnestly  urge  upon  him  your  request. 
True  prayer  is  an  intense  work  both  of  the 
mind  and  of  the  heart.  We  pray  only  as 
we  "stir  ourselves  to  take  hold  on  God." 
Augustine  speaks  of  one  who  prayed  as 
if  he  would  expire,  "expirare  orando" — 
expire   while    praying;    breathe   out   his 


270  How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

very  life,   as  some  one  has  said,  in  the 
exercise.   ■ 

This  is  not  the  same  as  Importunity, 
although  it  is  a  part  of  it.  Importunity 
means  not  only  to  pray  thus  earnestly,  but 
above  all  to  be  persistent  in  it,  but  how 
naturally  it  associated  itself  with  such 
prayer;  for  one  who  prays  with  such  in= 
tensity  is  not  likely  to  falter  or  be  dis- 
couraged if  the  first  effort  does  not  bring 
the  desired  response.  How  naturally, 
then,  it  follows  that: 

11.  True  prayer  implies  a  persevering 
faith.  A  faith  that  will  not  falter  at  delay. 
It  believes  and  keeps  on  believing.  This 
is  the  other  element  of  importunity  {anai- 
deia,  literally  "shamelessness")  in  the 
parable  of  the  ungenerous  neighbor  (Luke 
11 :  5-8),  and  of  the  unjust  judge  who  was 
worn  out  {hupopiadzine,  literally  "to  beat 
the  face  black  and  blue")  by  the  continual 
coming  of  the  widow.  The  same  Hebrew 
word  paga,  as  just  noted,  car- 
ries this  idea  along  with  it.  We 
need  that  sanctified  energy  of  will  that 


A  Study  in  Words  271 

persists  in  its  suit  till  God  clearly  bids  it 
cease.  God  has  His  postponements  as 
well  as  His  appointments. 

12.  True  prayer  implies  humility  and 
the  submissive  spirit — a  will  resigned  to 
God.  We  may  not  always  know  God's 
will,  but  we  do  know  always 
that,  "All  things  work  together  ™^^^" 
for  good  to  them  that  love  G  od ; 
to  them  who  are  the  called  according  to 
His  purpose,"  and  can  therefore  well 
afford  to  say,  "Thy  will,  O  God,  be  done." 
If  this  lesson  is  taught  in  one  word  more 
than  in  another  it  is  in  the  Greek  word 
hiketaria.  It  is  used  only  once  in  all  the 
New  Testament  (Heb.  5:7),  and  then 
concerning  the  One  who  in  Gethsemane 
prayed  and  said,  "Not  my  will  but  thine, 
O  God,  be  done."  It  really  means  a  hum- 
ble, prostrate  entreaty  against  impend- 
ing evil.  The  word  has  a  history  worth 
finding  out,  and  the  study  of  it  is  fas- 
cinating. 

If  we  own  ourselves  the  Lord's,  the 
surrender  must  be  complete  and  the  will 


272   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

cannot  be  kept  back.  Gethsemane's 
"nevertheless"  may  mean  thorns  instead 
of  roses  for  a  while,  but  God's  best  is 
always  at  the  end  of  the  way. 

13.  True  prayer  implies  loyalty  and 
devotion  to  God.  So  far  are  His  interests 
above  our  own  that  if  the  "cup  cannot 
pass  away"  we  will  drink  it  even  though 
it  lead  us  to  Calvary.    This  seems  to  be 

the  lesson  taught  us  by  that 
oMAi^^^^'   sacred  word  proseuchomai,  used 

120  times  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. It  is  used  only  of  prayer  to  God. 
It  is  always  translated  by  the  word  "pray" 
and  is  used  of  Jesus  when  He  prayed  in 
Gethsemane.  "He  kneeled  down  and 
prayed"  (Luke  22:44).  This  is  some- 
thing more  than  resignation;  something 
more  than  submission.  It  is  saying,  "Thy 
will,  O  God,  be  done";  but  it  is  more.  It 
is  the  devotement  of  self  to  God  in  seeing 
that  His  will  is  done. 

II.  But  rich  as  are  these  lessons  which 
come  from  a  study  of  the  words  which 
themselves  mean  prayer,  none  the  less  so 


ADIALEI- 
POS. 


A  Study  in  Words  273 

are  those  we  learn  from  the  words  used  in 
connection  with  prayer. 

1.  From  1  Thessalonians  5:17,  comes 
the  lesson  that 

WE   ARE    TO    PRAY   UNCEASINGLY 

The  word  is  adialeipos.  It  means  sim- 
ply "without  leaving  off."  It  is  used  only 
in  three  other  places.*  It  is 
quite  like  in  meaning  to  the 
word  diajyantos  (used  of  Cor- 
nelius in  Acts  10:2),  and  to  the  quite 
frequent  and  more  common  word  pantote, 
used  eleven  times  in  connection  with 
prayer.f  "Men  ought  always  to  pray." 
Frugality  here  is  dangerous  economy. 
Not  always  on  one's  knees,  but  always 
living  and  moving  in  the  atmosphere  of 
prayer.  This  is  that  "closer  walk  with 
God."  Something  is  wrong  where  the 
life  languishes.  Health  of  soul  demands 
"the  unbroken  connection." 


*Rom.  1:9;  1  Thess.  1:3;  1  Thess.  2:13. 

tRom.  1:9;  1  Cor.  1:4;  Eph.  5:20;  Phil.  1:4;  Col, 
1:3,  4:12;  1  Thess.  1:2,  33;  Thess.  1:3,  11;  Phil.  4:11', 
2  Thess.  2:13. 


274   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

2.  Not  very  unlike  this  is  the  lesson  that 

WE   ARE    TO   PRAY   UNDER   EVERY 
CIRCUMSTANCE 

The  expression  which  seems  to  me  to 
more  especially  convey  this  truth  is  the 
one  found  in  Luke  21 :  36,   "Watch  ye 

therefore  and  pray  in  every 
KAiRo^^^     season,"  and  also  in  Ephesians 

6:18,  "  praying  in  every 
season.*'  The  expression  is  en  panti  kairo, 
and  is  used  only  the  twice.  We  are  wres- 
tling against  powers  (Eph.  6)  that  lie  in 
wait  for  us.  They  will  take  us  unawares 
if  they  can.  If  we  forget  God  when  the 
sun  shines  and  are  grieved  at  Him  when 
the  clouds  come,  we  shall  find  our  feet 
slipping  from  beneath  us  and  the  Evil  One 
will  have  gotten  the  victory  in  a  struggle 
for  which  there  would  have  been  no  occa- 
sion had  we  remembered  and  practiced 
what  our  Lord  did  say,  that,  in  every 
season,  under  every  circumstance,  we  need 
to  pray. 

3.  Another  message  comes  to  us  out  of 
1  Corinthians  7 :  5,  where  we  learn  that 


A  Study  in  Words  275 

WE   ARE   TO  TAKE    TIME    FOB  PRAYER 

The  word  is  scholazo.    It  is  used  only 
\     here  in  the  New  Testament  with  refer- 
\  ence   to   persons.      It    is    used 

\..  ,^,  .,,  ^^      .  .     SCHOLAZO, 

(^  \  twice  elsewhere  (Matt.  12:44 
\  ynd  Luke  11 :  25)  with  reference  to  things. 
^In  the  latter  sense  it  means  "empty,"  and 
i:§  applied  both  times  to  a  house  left  un- 
occupied. When  used  with  reference  to 
persons,  the  word  means  unoccupied  in 
the  sense  of  being  at  leisure,  having 
nothing  to  do  and  at  liberty  to  devote 
one's  time  and  self  to  a  thing. 

We  are  not  to  be  hurried  in  our  devo- 
tions. Who  was  it  that  said,  "Could  ye 
not  watch  with  me  one  hour?"'  As  if  that 
were  a  little  while  to  devote  to  a  thing  like 
that!  But  many  of  us  would  doubtless 
be  embarrassed  by  arithmetical  calcula- 
tions just  at  this  point.  If  prayer  is  im- 
portant we  ought  to  have  time  for  it.  If  it 
were  a  pleasure  we  would  have  time  for  it, 
and  if  we  could  really  say  of  Him,  "Whom 
having  not  seen  we  love,"  what  a  pleasure 
it  would  be!     When  the  white  handker- 


276   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

chief  lay  just  before  Gordon's  tent  door, 
the  weightiest  matters  of  his  queen's  king- 
dom must  wait,  for  Gordon  was  commun- 
ing with  God.  "Give  yourselves  unto 
prayer."  Put  other  business  aside.  Let 
the  mind  and  the  soul  be  at  leisure  for  this 
one  thing.  This  is  the  message  of  the 
verse. 

4.  And  now,  from  another  word,  comes 
the  command  that  sounds  somewhat 
strange.    It  tells  us  that 

WE   ARE    TO  BE   SOBER   WHEN    WE    PRAY 

In  1  Peter  4 :  7  the  revised  reading  is, 
"Be  ye  therefore  of  sound  mind  and  be 
sober  unto  prayer."  The  word  is  ncpho, 
and  its  primary  meaning  is  a 
physical  one,  namely,  "to  ab- 
stain from  wine,"  and  so  passes  spiritually 
into  the  general  sense  of  calm,  temperate, 
collected  in  spirit,  self-controlled.  It  is 
used  five  times  elsewhere,*  but  only  this 
once  in  connection  with  prayer. 

Another    has    suggested    that    "many 

*  1  Thess.  5 : 6,  8.    2  Tim.  4:5.     1  Pet.  1:13.     1  Pet. 
5:8. 


A  Study  in  Words  277 

things  intoxicate  which  are  not  wine,"  and 
that  one  can  be  drunk  with  worldly  gaiety 
and  worldly  business,  with  pride,  or  envy 
or  anger.  How  could  one  pray  in  such  a 
condition !  We  must  bring  with  us  when 
we  pray  a  mind  that  is  steady  and  com- 
posed; if  we  do  not  have  it  we  must  seek 
it  in  quietness  before  God.  Many  of  our 
best  lessons  are  missed  for  the  lack  of  it. 
That  we  have  been  permitted  to  pray  at 
all  is  the  marvel,  and  when  we  do  pray 
the  very  best  of  intellect  and  heart  is  the 
very  least  we  should  expect  to  devote  to 
this  high  and  mighty  privilege. 

5.  We  find  next,  in  Colossians  4:  2,  an- 
other word  which  tells  us  that 

WE  ARE  TO    BE   VIGILANT   WHEN   WE    PRAY 

The  passage  reads,  "Continue  stead- 
fastly in  prayer  and  watch  in  the  same  with 
thankssriving;."      The   word    is 

,    .        ,  1     GREGOREO. 

gregoreo,  and  is  the  same  word 
used  by  the  Master  in  Matt.  26:41  and 
Mark  14:38,  when  He  said  to  His  three 
disciples,  "Watch  and  pray  that  ye  enter 
not  into  temptation,"  and  the  same  word 


278  How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

He  uses  just  before  in  telling  them  to  tarry 
in  the  distance  and  watch  while  He  prayed. 
The  word  is  quite  general,  and  while  the 
Colossian  passage  calls  chiefly  for  a  spir- 
itual emphasis,  the  Gospel  passages  show 
that  the  physical  reference  is  not  to  be 
entirely  ignored.  The  prayer  life,  to  be 
successful,  calls  for  the  most  rigid  mental 
attentiveness.  There  is  sometimes  so 
much  self-indulgence  and  mental  lassi- 
tude in  our  attempts  at  prayer  that  the 
good  which  might  be  ours  is  lost  entirely. 
The  soul  must  be  on  its  guard.  If  the 
Evil  One  can  change  the  hour  that  ought 
to  bring  us  strength  from  above  into  a 
season  of  distracted  mind-wandering,  how 
surely  will  he  do  it.  One  always  prays 
best  when  the  mind  is  clear,  keen  and 
alert.  Only  so  can  the  senses  be  exercised 
to  discern  both  good  and  evil  (Heb.  5 :  14). 
The  use  of  this  word  gregoreo  gives  no 
sanction  to  any  but  an  active,  energetic 
prayer. 

As  a  figure  of  this  spiritual  circumspec- 
tion, it  will  be  interesting  to  note  the  use 


A  Study  in  Words  279 

of  the  same  word  in  a  physical  sense  in  the 
following  passages :  1  Peter  5:8;  Matt. 
24:43;  Mark  13:34;  Acts  20:31. 

6.  From  this  same  passage,  Colossians 
4:2,  comes  a  second  lesson  from  which 
we  learn  that 

WE  ARE  TO     MAKE    PRAYER  THE   CHIEF  BUSINESS 
OF  OUR  LIFE 

Besides  urging  us  to  watchfulness  in 
prayer,  the  passage  says,  "Continue  stead- 
fastly in  prayer."  The  same  message  is 
found  in  Acts  1: 14;  2:  42;6:  4, 
and  also  in  Rom.  12: 12,  while  Hl^^^"^^' 
the  same  expression  is  also 
found  in  five  other  passages  without  refer- 
ence to  prayer.  The  two  words,  "continue 
steadfastly,"  are  one  in  Greek.  It  is  pros- 
kartereo,  and  the  underlying  thought  of 
the  word  is  that  of  "giving  exclusive  atten- 
tion to  a  thing."  In  Acts  6 :  4  the  Apos- 
tles told  the  other  disciples  to  select  seven 
of  their  number  who  might  look  after  the 
daily  ministrations  of  food,  since  they 
themselves  must  be  relieved  of  this  busi- 
ness, that  they  might  give  themselves  (con- 


280  How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

tinue  steadfastly)  to  prayer  and  the  min- 
istry of  the  Word  of  God.  The  Apostles 
were  to  "give  constant  attention"  to  this 
latter  even  as  the  other  disciples  were  to 
the  former.  It  was  to  be  their  business, 
just  as  serving  tables  was  called  the  busi- 
ness of  the  others. 

When,  in  Mark  3 : 9,  Jesus  gave  a  com- 
mand "that  a  small  ship  should  wait  on 
Him,"  He  used  this  word,  and  when,  in 
Acts  10 :  7,  we  are  told  that  certain  soldiers 
"waited  continually"  on  Cornelius,  it  is 
this  word  proskartereo  that  is  used  to  ex- 
press such  service.  It  was  their  business, 
their  one  chief  duty,  to  attend  this  Roman 
Centurian.  Think  of  a  merchant  prince 
pleading  the  pressure  of  other  duties  as  an 
excuse  for  neglecting  his  business !  Prayer, 
God  would  have  us  know,  is  our  business. 
How  neglect  it,  therefore,  and  hope  to 
succeed  in  our  religious  life!  When  we 
"enter  the  closet"  we  are  told  to  "shut  the 
door."  We  are  supposed  to  be  there  for  a 
purpose;  important  matters  are  on  hand. 
Successful    business    demands    vigorous 


A  Study  in  Words  281 

thought,  but  our  indolent  minds  some- 
times so  affect  our  bodies  that  we  go  to 
sleep  on  our  knees.  Successful  business 
averts  bankruptcy  only  by  enthusiasm, 
and  thousands  of  Christians  are  in  spir- 
itual disaster  to-day  because  they  have 
been  heedless  of  the  spirit  of  business  in 
their  devotions. 

7.  There  is  yet  another  word  and  one 
other  lesson  in  advance  of  any  yet  learned. 
It  is  the  lesson  which  comes  from  the  word 
Paul  used  when  he  told  the  Christians  at 
Rome  to  "labor  fervently"  (strive.  Re- 
vised Version)  with  him  in  their  prayers 
for  his  sake  (Rom.  15:30).    It 

,  ,   \  111         AGONIZO. 

IS  the  word  he  used  when  he 
said  of  Epaphras,  in  Colossians  4 : 2,  that 
he  "always  labored  fervently  for  them  in 
his  prayer."     From  this  word  comes  the 
message  that 

WE  ARE  TO  MAKE  PRAYER  A  MATTER  OF  LIFE 
AND  DEATH 

The  word  is  agonizo,  and  is  the  word 
from  which  we  derive  the  English  "agon- 
ize."   Translated  by  the  Authorized  Ver- 


£82  How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

sion  into  "laboring  fervently,"  it  was 
made  to  read  in  the  Revised  Version 
"striving,"  but  the  English  reader  will 
hardly  grasp  the  fullness  of  its  import 
until  he  sees  it  written  "agonize."  It  is 
really  a  tragic  word  and  one  we  would 
hardly  expect  to  see  used  in  this  connec- 
tion. Do  we  not  find  ourselves  thinking 
that  if  this  is  what  it  means  to  pray,  how 
little  praying,  at  least  such  praying,  have 
we  really  ever  done?  To  pray  after  this 
fashion  means  the  absolutely  unreserved 
devotement  of  every  power  of  one's 
soul  and  mind  and  body  to  the  doing 
of  it. 

The  word  as  used  in  describing  other 
effort  will  help  us  a  good  deal  in  our  study 
of  its  use  here. 

{a)  In  1  Corinthians  9 :  25,  Paul  says, 
"Everyone  that  striveth  (agonizomenos) 
for  the  mastery  is  temperate  in  all  things." 
We  are  to  agonize  in  prayer  as  does  an 
athlete  in  the  arena  for  the  prize  he  so 
much  covets.  The  very  last  measure  of 
such  a  man's  strength  goes  into  the  con- 


A  Study  in  Words  283 

test.     In   Hebrews   12:1    the   "race"   is 
called  an  "agony"  (agonia). 

(b)  In  1  Tim.  6:12  the  young  soldier 
for  Christ  is  told  to  "fight  the  good  fight 
of  faith,"  the  same  thing  which  Paul  said 
of  himself  that  he  had  done  (2  Tim.  4:7). 
It  literally  reads  "agonize  the  good  agony 
of  faith."  We  are  to  agonize  in  prayer  as 
does  a  faithful  soldier  on  the  field  of  bat- 
tle. Is  there  any  service  so  desperately 
earnest  as  his.?  and  it  is  unselfish  and  per- 
sistent as  well.  If  we  prayed  as  he  fights 
we  would  often  turn  into  victory  what 
otherwise  would  be  humiliating  and  dis- 
appointing defeat. 

(c)  In  John  18:36  Jesus  says,  "If  my 
kingdom  were  of  this  world,  then  would 
my  servants  fight  (agonizonto)  that  I 
should  not  be  delivered  to  the  Jews."  Our 
striving  in  prayer  is  to  be  like  the  agony 
of  a  friend  fighting  to  save  another's  life. 
If  it  be  like  this  all  the  finer  qualities  of 
our  nature  will  go  into  it.  It  will  be  un- 
selfish and  heroic.  It  will  be  resolute  and 
determined,  and  neither  delay  nor  any- 


284   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

thing  else  will  discourage  us,  and  nothing 
but  the  clearly  revealed  will  of  God  will 
cause  us  to  loosen  our  hold  upon  Him  for 
the  thing  we  have  asked. 

(d)  In  Hebrews  12:4  the  writer  says, 
"Ye  have  not  resisted  unto  blood,  striving 
(agonizomenoi)  against  sin."  He  has  been 
talking  about  martyrdom.  Sympathy 
with  Christ  means  suffering  with  Christ. 
"To  you  it  is  given  not  only  to  believe  on 
His  name,  but  also  to  suffer  for  His  sake." 
If  we  bring  this  spirit  into  our  prayers  we 
will  join  hands  with  God  to  bring  about 
the  answer.  True  prayer  is  costly !  It 
means  labor,  sacrifice  and,  if  need  be, 
martyrdom. 

(e)  In  Luke  13 :  24  are  found  the  Mas- 
ter's words  urging  us  to  eternal  life.  He 
says,  "strive  (agonizesthe)  to  enter  in  at 
the  straight  gate."  We  are  to  agonize  in 
prayer  as  a  truly  awakened  sinner  ago- 
nizes to  save  his  soul.  It  is  a  matter  of 
mighty  concern  to  him  when  once  the 
true  condition  of  his  soul  flashes  upon 
him.     Fancy  yourself  back  at  that  place 


A  Study  in  JVords  285 

with  a  knowledge  of  eternal  matters  such 
as  you  now  have !  With  what  intensity  of 
desire,  with  what  earnestness  of  soul, 
would  you  endeavor  to  lay  hold  upon 
eternal  life,  that  you  might  not  perish. 
Something  like  that,  with  the  same  con- 
suming desire  and  the  same  intense  appli- 
cation to  the  matter  at  hand,  must  we 
pray  if  our  prayers  are  to  accomplish  the 
will  of  God  in  our  lives. 

(/)  There  is,  however,  one  example 
from  which  we  feel  we  can  learn  more 
about  this  kind  of  prayer  than  any  study 
of  words  could  ever  bring  us.  It  is  the 
Gethsemane  agony  of  our  Lord.  With 
uncovered  head  let  us  stand  within  the 
shadows  and  reverently  behold.  **Being 
in  an  agony  {agonia)"  says  the  evangelist 
(Luke  22:44)  "He  prayed  more  ear- 
nestly" (ektenesteron,  comparative  degree 
of  the  word  ektenos,  page  268,  meaning  ''in- 
tense," "stretched  out."  See  also  Heb. 
5:  7,  "With  strong  crying  and  tears"  His 
soul  being  sorrowful  unto  death)  "until 
His  sweat  was,  as  it  were,  great  drops  of 


286   How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 

blood  falling  down  to  the  ground"  (Luke 
22:44). 

Here  we  see  what  agonizing  in  prayer 
really  is.  Here  is  prayer  at  its  best,  even 
though  the  cup  did  not  pass  from  Him. 
It  needs  a  mighty  concern  to  pray  like 
that.  A  concern  that  comes  only  from 
realizing  something  of  what  Jesus  realized 
in  those  agonizing  moments.  We  need 
first  the  Gethsemane  vision;  the  hideous- 
ness  of  sin,  the  horror  of  its  consequences, 
and  then  something  of  the  mind  of  Christ 
that  will  keep  us  from  turning  back  and 
bring  us  into  fellowship  with  His  suffer- 
ings for  the  deliverance  of  this  world  from 
the  just  judgment  of  God  for  its  sin.  Then 
we  shall  know  what  really  we  have  never 
known  before — ^what  it  means  to  pray. 

Oh,  Thou  Man  of  Sorrows,  we  wonder 
how  little  the  disciples  really  knew  when 
they  said,  "Lord,  teach  us  to  pray,"  how 
great  would  be  the  lesson  they  would  have 
to  learn  if  the  full  answer  to  that  petition 
came.  But  we  have  seen  it  now,  seen  it  in 
word,  in  precept  and  in  Thy  own  most 


A  Study  in  Words  287 

holy  example,  and  coming  fresh  from  this 
study,  we  see  now  how  little  we  can  pray 
without  Thy  Spirit  to  inspire  and  to  help, 
and  humbly  confessing  before  God  our 
own  past  poverty  in  prayer,  we  voice  with 
deep  desire  the  petition,  "Lord  Jesus, 
teach  us  to  pray."  v^ 


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